
























WO BOYS 

IN 

BEAVER-LAND 


Of me (]WacucMi\\&c?cI^,^ aritmalf 

tW live d& 

Tim is a jtory (brBoys,fx>lh § AT 
y^imj^ld^ferGirfcwlw areli 
intere/tea in die live? & habits of me 
wild cnaluref Sc in die winder/ of 
Inc open alrLifc atmmg die swut 
/tented fir/ Upload laW&wliere die 
jrparMino river/ kid u/ come away ftom 

me re/Ecsr citicr * > % % * ^ 

TfieKwI^y/ivere introduced l» my 
friends i n' Adventures in BeamStrem 
Cuwnn wludiwaf mounted Aeir ex- 
•ymmees wkm lost inNewfeunaland.*.¥ 






TWO BOYS ** 
IT BEAVER'LAND 


A Book of tbs Woods «*• a ♦% a 
Wriitin. , Illustrated £ Designed 


Bjy ~W ~W ~W 

Major A'Radclyffe DuQ'more 

y U F*R'C*S‘ * T‘R^*S 

Au/hcr of “Adventures in Beaver Stream Camp * 9 
“Camera Adventures in the Afr/ean Wilds n 
“Romanic of At Weu) found Lend Caribou * 

H When Hu, Somme Fan. Bed" 

"Bird Hemes'* CU. 


Published ait Garden City » Now York- 
By 

Doubled ay, Pape £ Company 

1520 



DEC -3 1920 


COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY 
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION 
INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN 


g)CI,A604425 


l 


"'A'* 






<a 


TWO BOYS 

IN 




BEAVER'LAND 






































































Two Boys In Beaver-land 

CHAPTER I 

After recovering from severe illness Jack Sylvester 
and Charlie Mason are ordered to the woods of Canada. 

lV/TRS. SYLVESTER was standing against the 
-*■***■ fireplace in the large living room, staring 
with unseeing, tear-filled eyes at the crackling 
logs. Her pale face showed signs of suffering and 
anxiety; the slight rustling of a wind-blown curtain 
startled her violently, while her glance at the 
stairs which led into the room showed that she was 
anxiously expecting someone to appear. Fear 
showed in her face as though she dreaded to see 
the person for whose coming she looked. 

Only the crackling of the burning logs, and the 
gentle, rhythmic ticking of the clock on the mantel 
disturbed the quiet of the house. Again and again 
Mrs. Sylvester glanced at the clock whose hands 
moved so slowly. Minute after minute passed and 
still nothing happened. For nearly half an hour 
the silent woman stood motionless, when the slight 
noise of a door being opened and closed caused 
her to turn her head quickly toward the sound. 


3 



4 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


Then came the light tread of someone at the head 
of the stairs, and the woman was seized with the 
dizziness of fear. She scarcely dared to keep her 
face turned in the direction of the footsteps. A 
man was coming down the stairs, and the look on 
that man’s face would mean life or death! The 
woman’s eyes were blinded by the tears that would 
not be denied. She clutched nervously at the white 
mantel-piece to prevent herself from falling. The 
man caught sight of her and quickened his step. 
Would he never speak? Would he never open his 
lips to say the words she longed to hear? An 
eternity passed before he reached her side. 

“My dear Mrs. Sylvester” — why, oh why, did he 
waste time with those unnecessary words! Why 
didn’t he say the words she wanted ! 

But she heard no more; the strain of the past 
days — or were they years? had sapped her strength, 
and she dropped to the floor before the doctor could 
catch her. A few moments later consciousness 
returned, and she found herself lying on the 
sofa with her husband kneeling at her side, while 
the doctor, deeply moved, stood staring at the 
fire. 

“Jack is out of danger, dear,” she heard her 
husband say, “and Charlie is doing splendidly.” 

Was it all a dream? Was the boy really 
,safe? It was no dream, and the news was the 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


5 


glorious truth, thank God! Her boy was not 
going to be taken from her! What more could she 
wish? 

Doctor Saunders, feeling that his presence was no 
longer needed, said good-bye and repeated that 
everything was going as well as possible, and that 
nothing remained to be done but the best of nursing. 

“We shall have the two boys out and about in a 
few weeks, and you will both forget these terrible 
days of anxiety. I shall look in early this afternoon; 
till then good-bye. Call me up if there is the slight- 
est reason, but really you have nothing to fear. 
I have given the most careful instructions to the 
nurses.” 

What had happened in that usually cheerful 
house in the Boston suburb? The Sylvesters’ son, 
Jack, and their adopted son, Charlie, had both 
been struck down by that scourge, the “flu”; with 
Charlie it had developed into a fairly slight attack 
of pneumonia. This had caused considerable 
anxiety, but, thanks to his splendid constitution, 
he had passed the crisis without much difficulty. 
Jack, however, had developed double pneumonia, 
and for two days the doctor and nurses had fought 
the dread disease with all the skill of modern 
science. The battle had been against fearful 
odds, but science and love had won. The dreaded 
crisis had passed that morning, and now, as the 



6 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


doctor had said, careful nursing aided by the 
boy’s natural strength was all that was needed. 

Mrs. Sylvester went up with her husband to see 
their boy and found him sleeping peacefully. How 
pale he looked, how different from the rugged, 
brown boy who the previous year had come back 
from Newfoundland after having been lost for a 
year ! And yet was it not most probably due to the 
strength he had gained during that year out in the 
wilds that he had been able to win this struggle 
against death? Silently she kissed the cool fore- 
head. She turned to the nurse, but could not 
speak. Her hands grasped the nurse’s hand, she 
bent down and kissed it with gratitude. Leaving 
the room the husband and wife went in to tell their 
daughter Evelyn, who was sitting by Charlie’s 
bed side; she was his self-appointed nurse and was 
jealous of any one who tried to help her. Charlie 
was dozing when the Sylvesters entered the room, 
and Evelyn, who had not realized how near death 
her brother had been, put up a warning finger to her 
lips; but Charlie had awakened and turned his head 
toward the two who were standing silently at the 
door. Their faces showed that something had been 
happening and he inquired in consternation what it 
was that they had come to tell him. Mrs. Sylvester 
could only lean over his bed and kiss him while the 
blessed tears of gratefulness fell on his pale face. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


7 


Her husband came to the rescue and told in a few 
words what had happened and how happy they 
should all feel. 

“Poor old Jack!” was Charlie’s only comment, 
while Evelyn made a bolt from the room in her at- 
tempt to hide her deep emotion. 

And after that the days passed quickly, the 
glories of early spring gave way to the riper glories 
of approaching summer. The two boys were 
allowed out of doors to enjoy the health-giving 
sunshine. Their illness had been very severe and 
their recovery would not be hurried. Very slowly 
their strength returned but Jack’s condition caused 
a certain amount of anxiety. Finally, one day 
when they were at the sea shore for change of air. 
Doctor Saunders came to make a careful examina- 
tion, with the result that he strongly recommended 
that Jack should be sent away to live out of doors 
for some months. A long camping trip would be 
the best thing in the world, he said. The advice 
caused considerable commotion in the family, each 
member having his or her own ideas on the possi- 
bilities. Charlie was perhaps the most worried; 
he saw a wonderful long stay in the wild woods 
which he loved so much, but it was then June and 
before very long he would have to return to school, 
and so would be unable to go far away or stay for 
the many months suggested by Doctor Saunders. 



8 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


The mere idea of Jack going anywhere without him 
was impossible to imagine. Yet how could it be 
otherwise? Such were the thoughts which pos- 
sessed his mind when the family grouped about the 
large porch overlooking the sea. 

The Sylvesters’ great friend Fred Pratt had 
come down to hear the result of the doctor’s ex- 
amination and he now formed part of the important 
council of war which was to decide on the fate of 
the two boys. Charlie, in great need of sympathy 
and support, sat by the side of Evelyn on the 
swinging hammock. He knew she would under- 
stand his anxiety even though he said not a word. 
One does not always have to tell one’s thoughts. 
Mrs. Sylvester, fearing that the doctor had kept 
back something, was looking very much worried, 
as she sat near her husband with her trembling 
hand resting on his arm. Everyone was looking 
unreasonably solemn when Mr. Pratt, with his 
usual jovial way, called the meeting to order by 
rapping his large fist on the table with such vigour 
that it nearly upset the pitcher of ice water. 

“ What’s the matter with you all? The whole 
bunch of you look as though you were considering 
the best place in the cemetery for your family 
vault, instead of planning where to go for a glorious 
long trip to the woods. Get off with your glum 
looks and see what’s to be done. I believe, Jack, 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


9 


you young rascal, that you’re a deep-dyed villain, 
and have got the doctor bribed to order you off 
to your favourite haunts. Eh! How about it?” 

His jolly manner caused a smile to appear on 
every face. Even Charlie looked a little bit 
hopeful. 

“Come on now, Sylvester, what’s your idea? 
Ship ’em both back to Newfoundland, the country 
of their fame? I’ll bet that’s what they would 
like.” 

Charlie gasped at the word “they.” Did it 
mean that he would be sent with his chum after 
all? 

“No! Fred. Saunders is not in favour of 
Newfoundland. He wants a drier and more wooded 
country, suggests Canada, either Quebec or Ontario, 
pretty well north, where it is not liable to be too hot. 
What are your own ideas, Jack, for after all you are 
the one most concerned?” 

Ever since their extraordinary experiences, when 
they were lost for a year in Newfoundland, the 
two boys had longed for an opportunity of making 
a close study of the beaver and their work, but the 
idea had always seemed so remote, owing to the 
fact that schooling was considered necessary for 
young men of these days, and the said schooling 
always occupied the most precious months of the 
year. The autumn, which was the time for study- 



10 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


ing beaver, was bound to be taken up with mere 
books; then, when school and college days had 
finished there would be no chance for taking up 
their favourite subjects in the wilds, as they would 
surely be launched on some sort of business career. 
It may be easily understood, then, that their hopes 
had not been high. But here, at this unexpected 
time, an opportunity was actually offering itself. 
Jack glanced with a meaning look toward Charlie 
as he replied to his father’s question : 

“If we cannot go to Newfoundland, Dad, I think 
we would both rather choose the upper part of 
Ontario, where there are lakes and rivers and woods 
enough to suit the doctor. The fishing is good, 
too, but we have another reason for wishing to 
go there.” 

“Go ahead, you young schemer. I can see that 
Mr. Pratt wasn’t so far wrong when he said you 
had planned all this. What’s your scheme? ” 

“It’s beaver, we both want so much to have an 
opportunity of studying them; the little we saw of 
their wonderful work in Newfoundland interested 
us, as you know, so much that we called our camp 
‘Beaver Stream Camp.’ In those days we did not 
have much time for anything but trying to live, 
and you never would send us anything in the way 
of luxuries.” 

Jack hesitated a moment as he saw the rather 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND n 


pained look on his mother’s face. Too well did she 
remember that awful year of anxiety and misery 
when she believed that her son and Charlie had 
gone for ever. 

“Oh, you crue parents!” laughed Mr. Pratt. 
“To think of your never sending the dear boys 
anything! But wait a minute, it wasn’t your fault 
after all. You cold-blooded young imps, why did 
you never send your postal address? Such careless- 
ness I never knew. Really, Sylvester, I think they 
should be severely punished. Six months hard 
labour in the wilds of Canada I suggest as their 
punishment. What does the Court say, all in 
favour signify their will by saying Aye.” Five 
Ayes were voiced immediately. “ Contrary minded 
say No!” Dead silence. “The Ayes have it, 
but I doubt whether the prisoners have the right 
to vote; however, we’ll let that point go. What’s 
that, Evelyn?” 

“I was only going to ask if they may have two 
months taken off the sentence for good behaviour, 
because it’s awful cold up there in December and 
they may not be able to send us their address if 
the snow gets deep.” 

“Good idea, young woman, it would be rather 
cold; their sentence, as suggested, will therefore 
terminate on the last day of November.” 

During these proceedings, Charlie’s spirits had 



12 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


been steadily rising. Evidently there was no 
question about his going, and he already saw him- 
self paddling the heavily laden canoe through those 
wonderful Northern waters, when an unexpected 
jolt came in the form of a question from Mr. 
Sylvester. 

“How about school? ” he asked. “The doctor 
did not say it was necessary for Charlie to go, and 
he really should not miss his studies.” Had any 
one been watching Mr. Sylvester during the meeting 
they would have seen that he looked at Charlie 
very frequently and had apparently read the 
boy’s thoughts; they would also have seen a merry 
little twinkle in his gray eyes when he asked the 
alarming question. But somehow no one had 
noticed these details. Even Mrs. Sylvester had 
failed to see through his well-feigned expression 
of seriousness, and after a moment’s silence, particu- 
larly painful for two of the party, she gasped rather 
than said: “Oh, but I simply could not let Jack go 
without Charlie!” 

How Charlie loved her at that moment, not only 
for what she said, but for the way in which she said 
it. Mr. Sylvester could no longer keep back his 
mirth, but burst into a mighty peal of laughter in 
which, after a moment’s pause, he was joined 
by them all. 

“Oh Lord! how you did bite, and Charlie’s face, 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 13 


the funniest thing I ever saw/’ he jerked out as he 
regained his breath. “How I wish the trout would 
rise as quickly as you do! My dear, you’re simply 
wonderful.” 

“I don’t care, you’re a horrid mean old tease — 
isn’t he, Fred?” Mrs. Sylvester said, turning to 
Mr. Pratt. But she got little sympathy. Mr. 
Pratt simply laughed and remarked, “Some tease!” 

Jack, in the meantime, had gone over and had 
crowded himself into the hammock with his sister 
and Charlie. A happy trio they were; the mere 
prospect of a trip to the woods was something for 
which to be thankful. The senior members of the 
council now left the porch so the younger ones were 
able to indulge to their hearts’ content in plans 
and schemes. 

Evelyn started the conversation by saying: 
“Now what I want to know is where does poor little 
me come in on this expedition? You left me behind 
once before, and the consequences, as you remem- 
ber, were highly disastrous. You will only get lost 
again. ReaUy you are not fit to be trusted by 
yourselves. In fact you need me to look after 
you and see that you do not do mad things; so I 
want to know how it can be worked for me to be 
included in the party. The doctor won’t order me 
off for my health, as I look altogether too well.” 

This was perfectly true: a more delightfully 



14 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


healthy girl could not be found. Evelyn was four- 
teen years old, and rather mature-looking for her 
age, exceedingly pretty though not really beautiful, 
as her features were not quite as regular as they 
should have been. Her hair added greatly to her 
charm as it always resented being kept in restraint : 
the wavy locks of rich golden brown had a delightful 
way of falling over her temples and giving a most 
attractive effect. In disposition she was inclined 
to be quiet and reserved, very slow to make friends, 
but truly devoted to the few people she liked. 
Having no sister she had always been in the closest 
companionship with her brother Jack, who was 
two years her senior, and with Charlie Mason a 
fine lad of nearly seventeen who had lived with the 
Sylvesters exactly as one of the family ever since 
that terrible day when his father, who had been a 
very intimate friend of the Sylvesters, was killed 
in an accident. His mother he could scarcely 
remember, but Mrs. Sylvester was all that a mother 
could be to him, and in every way treated him as 
her own son. 

Evelyn’s appeal left the two boys looking rather 
blank; to go off for several months without her 
was not at all what they wished. She was a thor- 
oughly good hand in camp life, having been brought 
up to know how to make herself both useful and 
happy. She fished well, was an expert in handling 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


i5 


a canoe, in fact she joined in all the boys’ sports 
except shooting. Shooting she hated, and was 
partly responsible by her attitude for the boys’ 
apathy to what is so often a boy’s greatest amuse- 
ment. After a moment’s silence, Charlie, whose 
mind had been working quickly, looked up with a 
decidedly hopeful expression in his face: 

“I have it,” he said; “of course we do not yet 
know just what is being arranged for us, but I think 
we are safe in believing that we shall be allowed 
to go alone and not have any troublesome idiot 
of a guide to act as nurse.” 

Here Jack interrupted. “Guide! guide! Why 
I’d shoot any guide that dared come with us! 
We go alone or I’ll be hanged if I go at all. We 
are not babies!” 

“That’s all right, Jack, my boy, don’t get hot 
round the collar. Please remember you are a sort 
of invalid and that perhaps your father or the 
doctor will think you must not work too hard. 
There is no reason on earth why I, who am pretty 
husky, should not tackle the more strenuous jobs, 
at least until you regain your strength. I’ll make 
you work then you may be sure, so if the guide 
question is brought up we must urge our point. 
But you are interrupting the even flow of my 
thoughts and words of wisdom, so shut up till 
I make my suggestion.” 



1 6 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


“Right you are, oh High and Mighty, we stand 
rebuked (get up, Evelyn) and bow to your august 
Majesty. Bow low, Evelyn, or he won’t solve the 
vital problem and you will be left behind to cry 
your eyes out on the desert sands of the beach. 
Proceed, my Lord, we are all attention. Have we 
your permission to be seated? ” 

“Oh sit down, you silly idiot, and do shut up. 
I’ve almost forgotten what I wanted to say. Look 
here now: let us presume that we are allowed to 
go up where, who was it, Frank Stevens I think — 
yes, I am sure it was — said he had seen such a won- 
derful amount of beaver work up north of Rabbit 
Lake. He was after moose at the time and didn’t 
bother much with the beaver. We can go by train 
and steamer for the first part and then go on with 
our canoe. I don’t think it’s more than three or 
four days’ paddling from where the steamer drops 
us to where the best beaver country begins. If we 
have a decent sized canoe, say eighteen foot, we can 
carry enough supplies to last a very long time; after 
we had picked out a really good place, we could 
make a sort of permanent camp from which short 
trips could be taken. Your father cannot get 
away till some time in September. Why couldn’t 
he then come up with your mother and Evelyn? 
We could meet them at the landing place and take 
them up to our camp, and we could all have a 



TWO, BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


i7 


glorious time for a month, or as long your father 
could stay. In this way Evelyn would have a bit 
of the fun, for I am sure they would not let her come 
with us alone.” 

“ That’s a jolly good idea,” said Jack. “Let’s 
go and tackle Dad now and see what he thinks of it. 
Oh I say, Evelyn, wouldn’t this be fine!” 

“Rather,” said Evelyn, “half a loaf is better than 
no bread, and I would give all I own to have even 
a month with you two up there. It seems simply 
ages since I was off camping, and I do love being 
in the wild woods. The beaver would give us a 
wonderful excuse and object, and we would have 
the jolliest of times. Come on ! Let’s go and pre- 
sent our petition to the family.” 

No sooner said than done, and the three plotters 
hurried away to find their elders. After some 
searching they were found walking along the shore 
discussing plans for the boys’ trip. Jack acting 
as spokesman launched the subject without loss of 
time: 

“We have come, ” he said, “ to ask you to consider 
our suggestions,” and he briefly outlined the plan 
as they had arranged it. Mr. Sylvester, after listen- 
ing carefully, agreed that it was an excellent idea 
and said that they had been puzzling over what to 
do with Evelyn but that this seemed a thoroughly 
satisfactory solution. He added that the boys 



18 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


might as well plan to start the following week 
and that immediately after lunch they could make 
out a list of what was needed. “For I think,” 
he said smiling, “you will need more than your 
beloved crooked knives and a wrecked launch for 
this trip.”* 

This is how the trip to Beaver-land originated, to 
the mutual satisfaction of all concerned. Mr. 
Pratt joined in the momentous after-lunch pow- 
wow, and of course added many useful and prac- 
tical suggestions. The question of the canoe was 
an important one. If only one large canoe were 
taken, it would mean that any trips away from 
the main waterways would involve a lot of hard 
work as an eighteen-foot canoe is not easily carried 
through the timber-strewn forests, and the boys 
would undoubtedly want to visit many of the more 
isolated lakes and ponds. It is far easier for two 
persons to paddle one large canoe than for each to 
paddle his own; so the large one for the main 
journey would be best, especially as there would 
probably be rapids tcvpass. A small light canoe 
might possibly be towed up stream without much 
trouble, but in going down any rapids it would be 
dangerous and would therefore mean each boy taking 
charge of one. A fair-sized tent must be taken, 

^Referring to the time when the boys were wrecked off the 
coast of Newfoundland, and were lost for a year. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


19 


also one small and very light for use on the side 
trips. No camp furniture was needed as the boys 
much preferred to make their own. A small saw 
and some nails were put on the list besides, of 
course, the inevitable two axes. Fishing tackle 
both for bass and trout was necessary and Charlie 
added sketching material as he was fond of painting 
and hoped to have plenty of opportunity of doing 
something in that line. A book on birds and the 
latest book on beaver were put on the list. 

Nine days after the doctor had advised Jack’s 
going off to the woods, the two boys started on their 
way north, equipped with everything necessary 
to make camp life comfortable, that is, all except 
the food supply, which was to be purchased in 
Canada in order to save carriage and duty. It was 
a cheerful little party at the North Station that 
stuffy July evening; Evelyn alone felt somewhat 
aggrieved that she was not going to be with the boys 
from the beginning; however, she consoled herself 
with the thought that the few weeks before her 
father could get away would soon pass. If all went 
well, they would meet again on the sixteenth of Sep- 
tember, at the place where the steamer was to land 
the boys. A final good-bye and the heavy train 
puffed its noisy way out of the station and away 
from the sweltering city, carrying Charlie and Jack 
on the first stage of their journey to Beaver-land. 



20 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


It can be readily understood that they were an 
excited couple, and it was long before they stopped 
talking and planning and sought the comforts of 
bed. The noise and dust of that hot train would 
soon be forgotten in the glorious quiet and sweet- 
scented, clean air of the woods. Over four months 
of happiness stretched out before them, and they 
went over to the land of Nod happy with wonderful 
thoughts of what the future had in store for them. 
Who is there that hasn’t thought himself to sleep, 
tired out with the delicious work of building aerial 
castles? The largest and gamiest of fish always 
take the very flies we have brought; camp sites are 
perfect, fires don’t smoke, dishes are washed by 
fairies, there is no drudgery, there are no mos- 
quitoes or black flies, life is all joy, all sunshine and 
peace. Those castles remain in the air always 
just beyond our reach. We know we cannot 
reach the perfect place, but if we are optimists — 
and all others should be banished from our world — 
we go on hoping, and yet hoping, and so must it 
always be. 



CHAPTER II 

They arrive in Canada , make friends with the Hudson’s 
Bay Company’s Factor and start for the woods. Their 
first camp is on a delightful island. 

TT WAS late the next day when the boys reached 
** their railway destination. This was a small 
trading post, which we shall call Beaver Town, 
though that is not its real name, from which the 
steamer started on its occasional trips northward 
through lakes and rivers. By good luck the boat was 
expected to leave the following morning, so there 
was no time to be lost in getting together food 
and other things necessary for the trip. A visit 
to the Hudson’s Bay Company’s stores proved most 
interesting. There is a peculiar fascination in the 
very name of this great Company, whose exploits 
have been the subject of so many thrilling stories, 
and it always seems as though the Company was a 
thing of the past rather than a still existing organ- 
ization whose influence is felt to-day in the wilder 
parts, even as in the days when the railways had not 
penetrated to the comparatively remote regions. 


21 



22 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


Both Jack and Charlie felt a strange sensation 
as they looked about the Company’s store — a 
miniature department store it was, one that 
catered to the requirements of those who live in the 
wilds yet who demand certain luxuries. Standing 
alongside of a heap of steel traps was a sewing 
machine of the most modern pattern; here and there 
were highly ornate pieces of inartistic furniture, 
meant to appeal to some young couple contem- 
plating marriage who felt that their pride could not 
be satisfied with any furniture that was not dazzl- 
ingly polished (with cheap varnish) ; from the ceiling 
hung bundles of snowshoes and moccasins and 
“gum” boots. Shelves were filled with really 
good blankets, for the shoddy blanket has no 
place in the life of those who must face the bitter 
winters of the North; then there were shelves of 
“store” suits and mackinaw coats, and fancy 
articles to suit the tastes of the young and fair 
of the land, rolls of gorgeously coloured oilcloth, 
stoves of all sorts of patterns, a couple of grama- 
phones, and even a small harmonium. The 
“show case” was filled with the strangest assort- 
ment imaginable: wonderful patent medicines, 
that cured (so the labels said) every ill to which the 
human flesh was heir, rested, alongside of fishing 
tackle (which perhaps would be the cure of more 
ailments than the medicinal concoctions), knives, 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


23 


cheap silver plate, very fancy sweets of startling, 
if not alluring, colours, vegetable seeds, mouth 
organs, warranted gold filled watches which sold 
for seven dollars and ninety-eight cents, with im- 
mense equally warranted gold filled chains “ thrown 
in” to show good faith; in fact, there was scarcely 
anything that was not more or less represented in 
that marvellous collection, and the prices generally 
speaking were very moderate, while the quality 
of the really useful articles was invariably extremely 
good. It has always been the policy of the Hud- 
son’s Bay Company to treat squarely those on 
whom it depends for trade. The policy is sound 
for a poor blanket or defective boots might easily 
mean the loss of valuable skins. 

Besides themselves there were but two customers 
in the store, one a more or less white man, who was 
sitting on a flour barrel laboriously reading an old 
newspaper and chewing a huge piece of tobacco in 
a most ostentatious manner. His face was of the 
worst possible type — small, deep-set eyes very 
close together, a sharp, somewhat hooked nose, 
which showed evidence of having been broken 
as it was very crooked; the mouth, more or 
less covered by a scraggy black moustache and 
sparse bristly beard, was of the cruel, thin-lipped, 
drooping type; evidence of Indian blood was dis- 
tinctly visible in the high cheek bones, dark skin, 



24 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


and straight hair which showed beneath his worn 
fur cap. 

The other customer was an Indian, who was try- 
ing to make a bargain over a silver fox skin. This 
naturally interested the boys, who listened at- 
tentively to the quaintly expressed English of the 
Indian as he urged his views on the beauty and 
value of the skin he was showing. The storeman 
displayed a very mild interest; he took the pelt in 
his hand, blew the fur gently to see how thick it 
was, stated what he would give in cash or trade, 
sat back and picked his teeth thoughtfully. For 
many minutes no one spoke, then as the storeman 
decided to pay attention to the newcomers, and 
was about to move toward them, the Indian made 
what might be supposed to be a final effort to get a 
good price for his offering. “T’ree honded dollar, 
he dam good, eh!” but the storeman did not seem 
to hear him and came over to the boys to see what 
they wanted. 

At this moment the half-breed left his flour barrel 
seat and walked over to where the storeman had 
stopped in front of the boys, and said he wanted a 
pair of good strong boot laces; having secured these 
he returned to his seat, while the Indian without 
change of expression carefully replaced the fox skin 
in a bag and walked out of the store, not even 
deigning to say good-bye. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 25 


“ So long ! Come again, Pete, when you get some 
sense in that fool head of yours,” called out the 
storeman to the retreating figure; then turning to 
the boys he smilingly remarked, “ he’ll be back 
again to-morrow and sell that skin for two hundred. 
He asked a thousand when he first came in three 
days ago. ,, 

“What’s it really worth?” Charlie asked 

“A good seven hundred and fifty.” 

In the farther side of the shop the tobacco- 
chewing man kept his jaws still for a moment while 
his bead-like eyes peeped over the top of the news- 
paper. Seeing that Jack was observing him, he 
quickly returned to his tobacco and paper. As 
Charlie was explaining their needs, an elderly, 
white-haired man heard them and came forward, 
introducing himself as Mr. MacPherson, the Factor 
or head of the Company’s trading post. He asked 
his young visitors to come into the office and began 
immediately to tell interesting stories of the days 
long past. He was an old man of Scotch birth 
who as a mere boy had come over to Canada, yet 
he still spoke with a strong Scotch accent. He told 
of the days when regular fleets of large bark canoes 
used to make their way down the rivers and lakes to 
the various trading posts, laden with the richest of 
furs, which were more often bartered than sold, 
and of his experiences when living in the most re- 



26 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


mote outposts. The boys were so interested in his 
stories that they forgot almost to order the much- 
needed supplies. They told the old Factor of 
their intended trip and asked for suggestions as to 
where would be the best part of the country for 
them to go. He advised them to go up the lake by 
steamer to a certain landing place which was near 
the mouth of a fair-sized river. Taking a sheet of 
paper he made a rough map of the district and 
pointed out the best way for them to reach a series 
of small lakes where beaver were abundant and 
where there was the very best of country for camp- 
ing. This was of course most helpful as also were 
his suggestions as to the food to be taken. He said 
they could easily take enough in the canoe for six 
weeks or two months and have another lot sent 
by steamer to the landing place to be picked up 
when they had an opportunity. This was sound 
advice which the boys were only too glad to accept. 
A list was soon made out and MacPherson promised 
to send on the duplicate outfit on a certain date 
unless he got word to the contrary. All the food 
was packed in boxes and bags of convenient size 
for handling and carrying, as there would be several 
portages to be made. It was late that evening 
when the boys bade the kind old Factor good-night, 
after a long-to-be-remembered evening of stories 
that were like pages of fiction. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 27 


Next morning Charlie and Jack were up in good 
time, and after breakfast went down to see the 
steamer and get their canoe and outfit put safely 
aboard. Mr. MacPherson came to see them off 
and wish them good luck. Loafing about the 
landing place, Jack noticed the evil-looking white 
man who had been in the store the previous day, 
and asked the old Factor who the man was. 

“A miserable good-for-nothing who is always 
getting into trouble — sometimes a trapper and 
sometimes a lumber man, that is, when he is not in 
jail. His name is William Marchand, commonly 
called ‘ Sneaky Bill.’ Well he deserves the name, 
for a dirtier, low-down skunk doesn’t live.” 

“He certainly looks the part. He’d make a 
nice, pleasant guide, wouldn’t he?” Jack replied. 

“He tried that some years ago, but his attempts 
ended in disaster, and only by good luck he escaped 
being hanged for murder. He took an American 
named Roy Alister out after moose; the man was 
very rich and very foolish, for he carried quite a 
lot of money about with him besides a very expen- 
sive outfit. Some weeks later Sneaky Bill returned 
alone with a queer story of having lost the American 
while out one night tracking a wounded moose. 
From that day to this nothing has been heard of 
the unfortunate man. There was absolutely no 
direct evidence of crime, though we all had our 



28 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


suspicions. Bill was carefully watched, but he was 
too clever to spend any unusual amount of money 
he might have had for many months. One day 
he passed this place saying he had had great luck 
with foxes and had caught four beauties and was 
taking them further east to dispose of; on his way 
he met a travelling fur dealer and sold him the skins, 
so he said. But luck was with the rascal, for the 
man was drowned by the upsetting of his canoe. 
All evidence of the transaction was completely 
lost, and Bill went off on a prolonged debauch 
which lasted until he had squandered every cent 
of his ill-gotten money. So you see he is a nice sort 
of chap to avoid.” 

“Well, I don’t think we want him for a guide 
anyway,” said Charlie. 

“You couldn’t have him, even if you wished, 
as he is not allowed to act as guide any more!” 

The sudden call of “all aboard” brought the 
conversation to an abrupt end, and the boys 
jumped aboard after thanking MacPherson for 
his kindness to them. A few minutes later and the 
steamer, with as much fuss as a transatlantic mail 
boat, left the dock and started on her way up the 
long lake. Several times during the warm summer 
afternoon landings were made and cargo discharged 
at the small settlements. Toward evening, as 
the shadows lengthened, the little steamer tied 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 29 


up for the night, getting under way again the follow- 
ing morning after breakfast. At 10:30 the captain 
pointed out the river, which was about half a mile 
from the landing they were about to make. Less 
than half an hour later the canoe was in the water 
and safely loaded with all the outfits of tent, blan- 
kets, food and clothes, ready for the wonderful holi- 
day that was to last more than four months. Charlie, 
being the stronger, took the stern paddle, and 
Jack the bow, and at last, with a cheery good-bye 
from the people at the landing, who had arranged 
to take care of letters and supplies for the boys, the 
graceful green canoe started for the river. 

The day fortunately was fine. Only a slight 
summer breeze disturbed the smooth surface of the 
lake, and this breeze was a fair one, so the easy 
half mile was soon covered. On arriving at the 
river the paddling became more strenuous, for the 
current was against them and fairly swift. Charlie 
had the burden of the work on his shoulders, as 
poor Jack was far too weak to do heavy paddling. 

“Don’t strain yourself, Jack,” Charlie called 
out, “take it as easy as you can; I’ll get along all 
right; we need not do more than a few miles to-day, 
and by sticking close to the bank we can take 
advantage of the dead water.” 

“ Right you are. I certainly do not seem to have 
much strength these days. But, I say, won’t 



3 ° 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


it be fun coming down this river? That’s a fine 
old current in the middle — wouldn’t need much 
paddling, would it?” 

The river was about eighty yards wide and quite 
deep; the bank was low and very heavily timbered; 
farther up, where the river narrowed, it ran through 
more hilly country, consequently the current was 
much more swift and progress became increasingly 
slow and difficult. After going a couple of hours 
they came to where the waters broadened out and 
became less rapid. Charlie, however, was so tired 
that he proposed a rest. 

“Why not camp here? It looks like a decent 
sort of place,” Jack replied. 

The suggestion was entirely satisfactory. Charlie 
immediately steered the canoe into a little back- 
water which formed a delightful, well wooded 
island. A better camping site could not have been 
asked for. The ground was a ipass of ferns, 
flowers, and grass under the shade of large birches, 
whose rough, untidy bark blew about in the gentle 
breeze; sweet scented balsams added their touch 
of deep blue-green colour; alders fringed the island, 
growing large on the dead water side, while smaller 
ones shivered in the swift current on the river bank. 
“A regular paradise” was Jack’s verdict, and so it 
was. As soon as they had landed and looked over the 
ground Charlie shouldered the reins of government. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 31 


“ Squat down there on the soft side of that log, 
Jack, and take things easy, while I get the stuff 
out of the canoe and make camp; you look like the 
last rows of tomatoes after the frost has touched 
them up.” 

“Oh hang it, I can help a bit. I’m not going to 
let you do all the work, even if you do think your- 
self the great and only strong man.” 

“No back talk now, and no insubordination, 
young fellow, my lad,” Charlie replied; “I am ap- 
pointed your boss, nurse, guide and general facto- 
tum by your own father and mother, and what they 
sez, I does, so there. Later on, when you are 
strong again, we will change places and I’ll take one 
grand loaf while you earn an honest living for both 
of us by the perspiration of your manly brow. 
Now come along and hold that seat down. It’s 
getting late and I have lots to do.” 

Jack, seeingjdiat arguing was useless and feeling 
more tired than he cared to admit, sat on the log 
while Charlie began unloading the boat. The out- 
fit had been so arranged that only a couple of bags 
had to be opened, one containing the little light 
shelter tent and blankets, the other the cooking 
utensils and a small supply of grub. The rest of 
the load was stacked up on shore and covered with 
a large ground sheet in case of rain, while the canoe 
was drawn up on the bank and turned upside down. 



3 2 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


It seemed rather an unnecessary amount of work, 
but leaving a loaded canoe in the water all night is 
risky; a moose might crash into it, or a log be blown 
against the frail craft, or, again, a heavy rain would 
soon fill the canoe; so it is always safer to put it 
carefully on shore during the night. As soon as 
Charlie had made the outfit secure he cut a couple 
of saplings and put up the shelter tent, then he 
collected sufficient fuel and with the aid of some 
birch bark started a good fire in front of a large 
green back log. A cross bar from which the pots 
could be hung was then put in position. While 
the fire was burning, he cut enough balsam boughs 
for the beds, for, as he said, one might as well be 
comfortable even though it were only for a single 
night. Within an hour from the time of landing 
the temporary camp was completed and as it was 
then nearly six o’clock it was decided to start 
getting dinner ready. This was soon done, and 
the two boys thoroughly enjoyed their first camp 
meal since leaving Newfoundland. 

“ Rather a different sort of meal from the last 
we cooked, isn’t it?” remarked Jack. “Do you 
remember our makeshift devices up there at Beaver 
Stream Camp?” 

“Indeed I do: the old spatter-dock roots, dried 
caribou, smoked salmon and all; seems like a 
dream, doesn’t it? And here we have these delicious 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


33 


slap jacks made with dried eggs and milk! What 
wouldn’t we have given for these luxuries in those 
months of economical housekeeping! But, after 
all, it really was fun.” 

“You bet it was. Do you remember our famous 
Christmas dinner? Let’s see, we had broiled 
salmon, ptarmigan and spatter dock.” 

“Yes, and some of our precious milk chocolate 
and biscuits, with blue-berries and that awful 
acorn coffee, which we thought so good. This is 
just a little better, ” Charlie remarked as he poured 
out another cup of real coffee. 

“Oh, I say, Charlie, do you remember that fine 
bow you gave me on Christmas morning and how 
we both tried to surprise each other! It was certainly 
sport!” 

“Doesn’t it seem queer how one only remembers 
the interesting and nice things that happened, all 
the disagreeable parts have faded away. Yet we 
had some ticklish moments, especially during that 
awful snowstorm, when we so nearly got lost. 
Didn’t we bless that old broken shack with its 
gruesome inhabitant.- -Poor old chap, what a 
dreary death.” For Some time the two sat in silence, 
staring at the fire and thinking of all they had gone 
through during that eventful year. 

“I wonder whether, after all, we shall have as 
much fun out of this carefully planned trip as we 



34 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


did on that very accidental one. Frankly I 
rather doubt it, as we shall be almost too comfort- 
able, and everything will be too easy.” 

“For goodness’ sake don’t grumble, Charlie, 
at having things comfortable. Let’s enjoy it all 
and I’ll bet we have a simply corking time and will 
both kick like steers when the day comes for us to 
return.” 

“You’re right,” Charlie replied. “We certainly 
ought to have all kinds of fun, and no worries, and 
not too much work. Speaking of work, let’s get 
busy with the washing up. Of course we shall 
enjoy that, eh?” 

“Well, that’s a job I confess I would willingly 
hand over to someone else. I’ve always thought 
that it was the one thing for which a guide was 
useful, and even ornamental; I simply love to 
watch them doing it. I wish some clever person 
would invent some way of camping with nothing 
to wash up. It would be a great advance in the 
cause of civilization.” 

“What an ungrateful dog you are, Jack. I 
remember the time when we wished we had had 
cups, plates, and pots and pans to wash, to say 
nothing of nice soap to do it with. Why, man, 
we should consider this job a positive luxury instead 
of complaining and grumbling like a pair of soldiers, 
a fine pair we are. We must be tired, I expect. 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 35 


Let’s get the beastly job done and turn in. I had 
thought of going fishing to see if I could not get 
something for breakfast, but honestly I am far 
more anxious to turn in.” 

“ Them’s my sentiments exactly, Charlie my 
boy.” Suiting the action to the words they soon 
had everything clean and tidy. Charlie had cut 
enough wood for the morning and a large piece of 
birch bark was put in the tent to keep dry in case 
of rain. It was still daylight when they sought 
the comfortable bough beds, but they were sound 
asleep long before the setting sun painted the sky 
a glorious gold. Not a cloud marred the golden 
dome and no wind stirred the trees whose deepening 
purple tops cut sharply against the luminous back- 
ground of slowly fading colours. From among 
the dark woodland shadows came the sweet soul- 
stirring song of the hermit thrushes calling to one 
another or to the souls of those who had already 
lived their lives in those mysterious woods. 



CHAPTER III 

Journey up river is resumed; they catch some bass f 
see moose , and make camp in time to get shelter from severe 
thunder storm. 

ll/TORNING broke clear and still. The dew- 
drenched leaves hung in listless profusion 
and sparkled like jewels in the rays of the rising 
sun. The white-throated sparrows called re- 
peatedly “ Sleepy boy, sleepy boy, sleepy boy, 
rise,” but the boys were slow to answer, sleep holding 
them willing captives. Not till nearly seven o’clock 
did they bestir themselves, after much yawning 
and stretching. Why hurry when the whole sum- 
mer and autumn lay before them? But appetites 
had to be satisfied and that meant that a fire must 
be lighted and food cooked; so Charlie built the 
fire and put the water on to boil and then went 
to the river bank and enjoyed a brief dip in the 
cold water. Jack had to be more careful and con- 
tented himself with a meagre wash on the edge, 
not daring to get entirely into the river. 

Soon after breakfast the canoe was launched and 


36 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


37 


packed, and once more the young travellers started 
on their way to the unknown woods and lakes. 
Two hours of easy paddling brought them to a 
tract of flat land where the river broadened out 
into a lake about half a mile in width and several 
miles long. They had not gone far before a large 
swirl in the water close to the canoe attracted their 
attention and decided the boys to try their luck 
fishing. A rod was quickly assembled and a small 
spoon with a bunch of red and white feathers was 
used as bait. Any fish that wanted to be caught 
must take hold without delay, as the wind was 
rising and the journey must be continued while the 
paddling was still fairly easy. Therefore trolling 
was the only available method. For nearly half 
an hour nothing happened; then the canoe was 
allowed to slow down slightly as the boys wanted 
to watch a large cow moose that was walking 
along the edge of the lake followed by a very small 
red calf. Suddenly the rod was jerked nearly 
out of the boat and before Charlie could grab it the 
line was spinning from the singing reel. Scarcely 
had he checked the line than a splendid big bass 
leaped from the water. 

“By Jove, he’s a beauty, Charlie!” Jack called 
out as he swung the bow of the canoe round so that 
his companion could the more easily play the lively 
fish. Lively it certainly was! Not once, but seven 



38 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



“ Sleepy boy — sleepy boy — sleepy boy , a-r-i-s-e” the morning song of Ihe 
•white-throated sparrow 


times the powerful black bass leaped in the air 
scattering the glistening drops of water and bending 
the rod to a dangerous degree, each time vigorously 
shaking its head in its efforts to dislodge the hook. 
The tackle held and in a minute after the last 
jump it was safely in the canoe — a good three and 
a half pound bass. 

The moose in the meantime had been watching 
the boys with keen interest, evidently wondering 
what the strange creatures might be. A gust of 
wind happened just then to blow in her direction 
from the canoe. That settled the question beyond 
any doubt. Enemies of the worst kind, nothing 
less, indeed, than human beings. The very sort 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


39 



The powerful black bass leaped in the air, scattering the glistening drops 
of water and bending the rod to a dangerous degree 


that had killed her mate when the golden leaves 
had last fallen. Well she remembered that mem- 
orable night. They were standing together. It 
was the sacred love season and they thought that 
only the autumn moon could see them. Then 
without any warning a tongue of fire darted out 
from the shadows, followed by a sharp report louder 
than the loudest crack of a frost-rift tree. Her 
splendid mate rose with a scream of pain, threw his 
wonderful antlered head back and crushed to the 
ground dead. Then two men came out into the 
burnt clearing and she dashed away fearful that 
a similar fate might overtake her. 

Human beings were things of terror and her 



40 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


young calf must be protected from them, so the 
frightened moose left her lunch unfinished and 
splashed out of the lake and into the dense woods 
followed closely by the little red calf. Instantly 
both were lost to view. 

“ Doesn’t appear to trust us very much,” Jack 
remarked. 

“You’re right, but I suppose it’s no wonder. 
I say, did you notice what a curious colour the 
calf was, quite red. Somehow I always imagined 
that young moose were spotted like the deer.” 

“I also had a sort of idea that they were. Cer- 
tainly I remember seeing that stated in some book 
we had. Don’t you remember we looked it up in 
another book which only said that they were red 
during the first summer, but made no mention of 
the spots, and we wondered at the time which was 
right?” 

“Yes, I remember that, Jack, but there is no 
doubt about this particular calf, it certainly had no 
spots. We must look out for another so as to be 
sure. Funny what mistakes one finds in books. 
To change the subject, isn’t this a fine bass? That 
means a good meal for us.” 

“A good meal for you , you mean, with that grand 
appetite of yours. Personally I think we should 
try for another fish so that we can both have 
enough, for I am feeling as hollow as an empty 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


4i 


barrel, and have no very great desire to share one 
miserable sardine with you or any one else. So 
chuck out that iniquitous weapon again and let us 
proceed, not too fast either, for you saw that we 
got nothing until we slowed down to look at old 
Mrs. Moose.” 

In a short time another bass was hooked and 
landed, after a pretty good fight. It was somewhat 
smaller than the first but still a respectable size. 

“Are you satisfied now, Jack, or do you think 
I shall devour both of these fish?” 

“They ought to give us enough for a meal, I 
suppose, so let’s get along. This breeze seems to 
be increasing and we might as well get clear of the 
lake before it makes paddling any more difficult.” 

“Right you are,” Charlie replied. “We’ll shove 
along as fast as we can, but don’t overdo it or you 
will crock up and then I’ll have the whole job on 
my dainty hands. Ding, ding, full speed ahead.” 

The canoe quickly responded to the steady paddl- 
ing and made such good headway against the rising 
wind, that inside of an hour they once more entered 
the river. Owing to the comparative flatness of 
the country the stream was almost sluggish so 
that notwithstanding the head breeze the boys 
made their way at good speed, and without too 
much exertion. In some places there were stretches 
of swampy backwater which looked as though they 



42 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


might contain beaver, but no traces of any lodges 
were visible. Two moose were seen feeding among 
the lily pads but they took little notice of the canoe 
so long as it kept moving along. When it stopped 
they kept their curious ill-shapen heads out of the 
water, nor would they resume feeding until the 
boat began to move forward again. The boys 
made no attempt to stalk the animals as the canoe 
was rather heavily loaded and paddling among the 
grass and lily leaves was hard work. 

Now and then a family of mergansers scurried 
along the water in an amusing way. The mother 
bird, realizing that her youngsters could not fly, 
swam ahead with wings flapping the water. The 
ducklings did the same with their little unfledged 
wings and went along at a remarkable speed. For 
some time they kept straight ahead of the canoe, 
but, as the chase promised to be a long one, they 
made a sudden bolt to the right and were soon lost 
among the long grass that fringed the shore. 

“Some day we must try to catch one of the little 
beggars and see what it looks like, ” said Charlie. 

“It would be fun but I imagine they will take 
some catching, so we will choose a day when the 
canoe is not loaded, if you please, Mr. Strongman. 
Just now I think we should be looking for a suitable 
place to camp, for honestly I am too tired to go 
much farther.” 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 43 


“Put down your paddle, Jack; I can manage well 
enough and we will go ashore at the first decent 
looking place we can find. We’ve done a good 
enough day’s work, anyhow, and I am so blessed 
tired that I shall be only too glad to start making 
camp. You see that knoll right ahead of us, where 
the river begins to narrow down? Looks as though 
it might offer us its hospitality, doesn’t it?” 

Jack looked ahead for a few minutes before an- 
swering. 

“Why, I believe there is a stream coming into 
the main river, just to the left of the wooded knoll. 
I am almost sure I can see a little waterfall.” 

Charlie took out the glasses and looked at the 
place which was only about three quarters of a 
mile ahead. 

“Right you are. There is a stream; it seems 
very small and where it joins the river I think there 
is a sor tof modified waterfall; anyhow, there is white 
water.” 

In less than half an hour they reached the knoll, 
and found a delightful place for making camp. 
The stream came tumbling down among a pile of 
large rocks which formed the bottom of a narrow 
valley whose sides were densely covered with a 
close second growth of spruces, with here and there 
a gaunt, partly dead pine towering above the vigor- 
ous younger growth. Toward the upper slope 



44 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


of the right side of the valley the fresh greens of the 
beeches showed a hard wood ridge edged against 
the dark green of the conifers and continuing for 
some considerable distance away from the river. 
The knoll which had first attracted the attention 
of the young explorers was on the right of the 
stream, and was very little higher than the surround- 
ing ground. The dense clumps of spruces and firs 
had given the appearance of far greater height. 

A convenient landing place was soon found, 
and as on the previous evening Charlie insisted 
that Jack should rest while he started the work 
of getting the camp made. 

“ Charlie, let’s have our grub first and then you’ll 
certainly feel better able to do the work. We can 
quickly boil some water for coffee and fry a bit 
of bacon. It would taste jolly good, wouldn’t it?” 

“ Perhaps you are right. I’ll go over to those 
birches and get some bark and we’ll make a small 
quick fire.” 

This was rapidly accomplished and within a few 
minutes some beautiful clear water from the brook 
was boiling over the blaze. The meal was a light 
one, as the boys kept the two fish which were to be 
used for dinner, and Charlie was anxious to get 
the camp ready in case of rain. 

Dark thunder clouds were looming up in a threat- 
ening way so there was no time to be lost. Jack 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 45 


was forced to give up his rest until later as there 
was so much to be done. At last the small tent 
was pitched and dry boughs cut ready for the beds. 
By this time the wind had dropped completely 
and the air was heavy and hot. The sky became 
darker and darker, of that curious purple-blue 
that warns us of trouble. 

“Dirty work at the crossroads to-night, I’m 
thinking,” Charlie remarked, as he mopped his 
dripping brow. Wood cutting was hard work 
under the conditions. But a fire would be needed 
and there was no knowing how long the storm 
would last. 

A rustling of the leaves on the tree tops an- 
nounced the advance guard, then silence again and 
a threatening stillness. Another gust, and yet an- 
other, each of increasing violence. The sky 
flashed bright erratic lights to the distant ac- 
companiment of the celestial artillery. Still no 
rain. It would only be a question of minutes now 
before the floodgates would open, but the two boys 
had everything ready for it. Under the upturned 
canoe the outfit was securely placed safe from even 
the hardest rain. Mosquitoes began to sing their 
annoying songs as they attacked in full force. A 
smudge would have been useful but there had been 
no time to make one and anyhow the rain would 
soon come in sufficient force to extinguish any 



46 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


smudge. At last the first heavy drops of rain 
came pelting down and the two boys promptly 
took cover. Faster and faster and harder and 
harder the drops came; then, with a terrific crash 
the storm burst, such thunder as the boys had never 
heard, while lightning darted about the leaden 
sky throwing its fiery darts first in one direction 
then in another. The wind increased to a gale 
and the rain to a deluge. But the tiny tent kept 
it out and as they sat under its shelter both Charlie 
and Jack enjoyed thoroughly the wonderful display 
of nature’s bad temper. 

It was well they had not been caught on the lake 
in such a storm. Jack was commenting on their 
good luck in being so comfortable, as he rubbed 
some “dope” on the back of his neck to discourage 
the attentions of the mosquitoes, when Charlie 
interrupted him: 

“I wonder what will be the chance of picking a 
trout or two out of the stream after this storm 
passes. I vote we have a try.” 

“It might be worth trying,” Jack replied, “and 
if the trout bite as willingly as these confounded 
mosquitoes do we ought to have some good sport.” 

Fortunately the storm passed as rapidly as it had 
come and soon the afternoon sun was shining clean 
and clear on the well-washed country. 

There was no time lost in assembling a couple of 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 47 


light rods. Ibis, Parmachenee Belle, and Mon- 
treal were the flies selected. Jack started fishing 
in the pool below the little falls while Charlie tried 
his luck lower down where the brook shot its foam- 
ing water into the quiet river. During the first 
half hour only two rises rewarded the most careful 
casting. Jack who felt the results did not justify 
so much hard work, left the falls and came down to 
where Charlie was standing on a partly submerged 
flat rock a few feet from the bank. 

“I am afraid that beastly thunder storm has 
knocked out the fishing instead of making it good. 
I only had one small half-hearted rise. What luck 
have you had?” 

“ Nothing so far, at least nothing but one rise. 

It was a good fish, too, but he wouldn’t ” Just 

then there was a fine splash and the rod bent almost 
into the water. Taking the line freely the fish made 
for the rapid water in midstream and the current 
helped it to carry the line out at an alarming 
rate. But Charlie was no novice and he skillfully 
steered the fish into the quieter water and a few 
minutes later landed a fine three-pound trout. This 
encouraged Jack to return to his place. But he 
only caught two small ones during the next hour, 
and Charlie did not even get another rise. 

As it was about time to begin thinking about 
dinner they gave up fishing. Luck had been bad 



48 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


but they had secured enough for breakfast and as 
Charlie remarked with a smile, ‘‘that saves our 
bacon.” 

After enjoying a thoroughly satisfactory meal 
of fried bass and other delicacies, the two were 
quickly stretched out in their bough beds watching 
the ever fascinating log fire which crackled and 
spluttered, while the blue smoke drifted lazily 
upward toward the glowing evening sky. 

The surrounding woods were getting more and 
more beautiful as the light grew less. There are 
few things more wonderful than the woods 
on an absolutely calm evening. Not a leaf stirred 
in all that forest. The birds of the North 
were saying good-night to each other. Here and 
there a red quirrel chattered as though objecting to 
something. Occasionally a sudden whim drowned 
all other sounds as a ruffed grouse flew to his sleep- 
ing place in a tree to be safe from the prowling 
lynx or fox. The mysterious owls left their roosts 
and came forth to hunt for their breakfast* Like 
pale ghosts they came, noiseless as shadows, but 
quick and keen to spot any unfortunate hare, or 
squirrel, or other item of their bill of fare. 

For some time conversation had ceased. It was 
one of the occasions when talk is unnecessary, 
there was so much to see and hear, beyond one’s 
own voice. A sudden snort startled the boys 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 49 


for it sounded so very near. Beyond the smoke 
of the fire something moved, and it was something 
large. Then it took a step to one side and the boys 
saw a doe staring at them with her great eyes. Two 
large ears were pointed forward to catch the slight- 
est sound. For perhaps a minute she stood mo- 
tionless. Then a burning log slipped and sent up a 
shower of sparks. The doe gave a terrified snort 
and bolted, displaying her large white banner 
conspicuously as she disappeared into the darken- 
ing woods. 



CHAPTER IV 

Have fine trout fishing: meet two Indians , who give them 
information; strike the trail to the heaver country; reach 
Four Island Lake; discover a large dam; make permanent 
camp; see many moose . 

npHE day dawned hazy and beautiful. Near 
the water all was lost in the pearly mist, above 
which the sun kissed tree- tops hung as though 
suspended in mid air. The scent of the dampened 
woods was intoxicatingly sweet to the boys who, 
filled with the joy of living, sat down to their 
breakfast of fried trout. 

As soon as camp was struck an hour was devoted 
to fishing, and wonderful fishing it was. Enough 
trout were caught to furnish food for the next three 
meals. Then the journey was resumed as the mists 
began to melt away under the power of the summer 
sun. On rounding a sharp bend in the river a 
couple of hours later a canoe was sighted coming 
swiftly down stream. This proved to be a fine 
bark canoe paddled by two Indians, who, on seeing 
the strangers drew in close to the bank hailing the 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


5i 


boys with the simple greeting of “Mornin’, you 
got tabac?” Jack replied that they had none, 
for which he was very sorry. 

“You no smoke?” asked the Indian in the stern. 

“No, not yet, we are not old enough,” Jack said. 

“Ugh! where you go?” 

“To fish and to look for beaver.” 

“No let catch de beaver now.” 

“We know that, but we want only to see them 
and their houses.” 

This seemed to puzzle the two Indians, who dis- 
cussed the matter with each other in their own 
language. 

“You find plenty beaver up dere,” pointing in a 
northwesterly direction. 

“How far?” Charlie asked. 

“Oh, ’bout two day in river, den find no much 
big lac, and you portage long side leetle river dis 
side, no plenty far. You see plenty lac and he got 
plenty beaver an’ big moose.” 

This sounded very hopeful, and Charlie thanked 
the good-natured Indian and asked where they 
were going with their load of furs. It appeared 
that they had been travelling by canoe and portage 
for nearly a month with their valuable winter’s 
haul of northern skins, all neatly done up in con- 
venient bundles. There were fox, mink, lynx, 
wolverine, martin, otter, and the humble mus- 



52 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


quash which was now becoming of greater value 
every day. The boat-load represented the long, 
hard winter’s work for these trappers, in return 
for which they would soon receive money and 
supplies. No wonder they were good natured and 
happy! Knowing how fond they are of sweets, 
Charlie handed a bar of chocolate to the Indians 
who immediately sampled it with keen apprecia- 
tion. Then saying “so long,” they pushed out 
into the stream on their way toward their destina- 
tion and the fulfilment of their hopes. 

“By Jove! I wish we had a canoe like that one. 
Isn’t it a beauty,” Charlie remarked, as the graceful 
craft of birch bark slipped over rather than through 
the water without sound or splash. 

“So do I! What’s the chance of our being able 
to pick one up somewhere? Let’s ask the next 
Indian we meet.” 

“It would be a splendid idea. The only trouble 
is the Indians seem so dashed scarce round these 
parts. I wonder if the place that chap told us of 
for beaver is the same that Mr. MacPherson marked 
on the sketch. Let’s look at it. You have the 
sketch in your pocket, I think.” 

A glance at the rough sketch proved that the 
places were almost identical, but the Indian’s route 
to the chain of lakes was different. According 
to MacPherson’s instructions they should pass 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 53 


through the medium sized lake and about a mile 
beyond they would find a blazed trail starting from 
a very large dead pine which stood in a small back 
water. The government survey map was then 
consulted and the stream spoken of by the Indian 
was found. By following the government map, 
the ponds were about two miles from the lake; 
whereas the blazed trail was apparently quite half 
a mile shorter; so it was decided to stick to the 
blazed trail. 

The day passed without any particular excite- 
ment. Occasionally deer and moose were seen 
and one moose, a young bull, allowed them to ap- 
proach to within about ten yards before moving 
off. His horns, only partly grown, were small and 
of course in the velvet. Camp was not made till 
fairly late in the afternoon as both boys were 
anxious to reach beaver country as soon as possible. 
Fortunately Jack was already feeling the benefit of 
the outdoor life and was able to render a fair amount 
of help in paddling. It was late the following day 
when the “no much big lac” was passed and the 
beginning of the blazed trail was found after some 
little difficulty. Camp was made and the two very 
tired boys lost no time in getting their meal and 
seeking the welcome comfort of the rather hastily 
made beds. 

Bright and early next morning the young ex- 



54 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


plorers were up and immediately after breakfast 
they started. Charlie shouldered a good load and 
Jack a light one. The trail had evidently been 
blazed within the last two years as the gum scars 
on the trees were but slightly overgrown by bark. 
Not much had been done in the way of clearing 
the path which was strewn with many fallen trees. 
These obstructions had to be cleared away before 
the canoe and heavier loads could be carried to the 
ponds. This occupied a good deal of time but gave 
Jack plenty of opportunity to rest on the way. Un- 
der the conditions it was difficult to get an accurate 
idea of the distance and it was about two hours be- 
fore the first gleam of water was seen through the 
closely growing trees. Soon after that the trail 
led down a fairly steep bank to the edge of a small 
lake, in which were several tiny wooded islands. 
The eastern shore ran up to high, very heavily 
timbered land surmounted by a hard wood ridge. 
The western side was flat, and more or less marshy. 

“Let’s go over to the left and see where the 
Indian’s stream would have led us,” Charlie sug- 
gested, after they had rested a few minutes. Jack 
also was anxious to see it, as well as explore for 
what might be found in the way of a good, perman- 
ent camp. About four hundred yards from the 
blazed trail they came to an outlet stream which 
was evidently the one referred to by the Indian. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 55 


“ Why, here is a dam!” Jack called out. “ Quite 
a decent one, too, and apparently in use.” 

True enough the outlet from the lake was re- 
stricted by a dam about a hundred yards across, and 
quite high in the centre. 

“Oh, I say, Jack, isn’t it a beauty? Pretty 
good luck I call it, striking beaver work immediately 
we arrive.” 

While examining the structure the sound of 
something splashing in the grassy swamp on the 
left caused both boys to glance up quickly. At 
first nothing could be seen, then Charlie climbed a 
few feet up a leaning birch tree. 

“ Come up quickly, Jack,” he called excitedly, in a 
loud whisper. Jack replied in person and as he 
reached his companion he saw no less than five 
moose feeding in the shallow water, and beyond 
them a deer. What a wonderful picture it made! 
But there was a lot to be done and after watching 
the big animals for five or six minutes Charlie sug- 
gested that he had better go back to the river and 
carry up the canoe, while Jack could select a good 
site and get it cleared up ready for the camp. Jack 
did not altogether agree to this; he thought it would 
be better to go back with Charlie and help to bring 
up some of the outfit; then when they had the 
canoe it would be better to explore the neighbour- 
hood before making a more or less permanent camp. 



56 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



The beginning of the dam; branches are first laid lengthways with the 
stream, then sod is added to hold back the water 


But on the whole this seemed the better plan. 
So together they started back along the blazed trail 
which they christened MacPherson’s trail, and were 
surprised to find how short it really was. Going 
empty-handed, however, is different from struggling 
under heavy loads; later on, when poor Charlie 
stumbled along under the weight of the supposedly 
light canoe, he was convinced the trail must be 
at least ten miles long, though in reality it was a 
short mile and a half. On arriving at the lake 
Jack felt decidedly too tired to make another trip. 
Charlie left him to start a fire and get some food 
ready while he went off down the trail, to return in 
little more than an hour with a good full load of 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


57 



A large and comparatively new beaver dam more than three hundred feet 
in length 


food. “Food is bad stuff to leave behind; it 
appeals too strongly to too many different kinds of 
creatures.” 

Jack had a good meal ready and waiting for him 
which vanished with the peculiar speed noticeable 
when healthy boys are out in the woods. After a 
comfortable rest Charlie returned to what he called 
the pack-horse job while Jack put up a temporary 
camp. Three trips he made before evening and 
he was thoroughly tired out so that he tumbled 
into the blankets immediately after supper, and a 
good supper it was for Jack had caught half a 
dozen nice trout, all over half a pound. The fact 
that there was good fishing to be had in the lake 


58 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


was a source of great satisfaction as it helped to 
solve the question of food for the summer if they 
decided to stay there. 

It was a sleepy pair of boys that tried hard to 
wake up next morning. The previous day had 
been pretty strenuous and it was late before they 
finally crawled out of the blankets. After break- 
fast the canoe was put in the water and a tour of 
investigation began. First the little islands were 
examined. There were four of these, the largest 
not more than seventy yards in length. All were 
wooded, and the most easterly one was found 
to contain a large beaver house. It was made on 
the edge of the water and apparently was oc- 
cupied, as several freshly peeled sticks were 
floating close by. In the lake a pair of loons 
were seen swimming about, occasionally uttering 
their weird cry which sounded almost like the trem- 
ulous call of an insane person. From the excited 
behaviour of the birds they evidently had a nest 
somewhere in the neighbourhood, presumably on 
one of the islands, and Jack suggested that they 
should make a search for it as soon as they had 
time. 

The most important thing now was to find the 
best place for their camp. As already mentioned, 
the easterly side of the lake was swampy. On 
closer examination the easterly side was found to be 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 59 


a regular net-work of water trails, made appar- 
ently by both beaver and muskrats. Two streams 
ran through the swamp. As the boys pushed the 
canoe very gently up the larger and more northerly 
of the two they disturbed several muskrats sunning 
themselves on the bank. Just as they entered the 
large shallow pond from which the sluggish stream 
ran, a pair of ducks flew up with a vigorous quack- 
ing that sounded strangely loud in the quiet of the 
Summer morning. The sound unfortunately startled 
two moose that were feeding in the water scarcely 
fifty yards from the canoe. They took one look at 
the intruders, then turned and bolted with as much 
noise and splashing as a sternwheel steamer. 

“ Confound those beastly ducks! If it had not 
been for them we would have had a fine chance to 
watch the moose,” Jack exclaimed in a disgusted 
tone. 

“Never mind,” Charlie replied; “it’s perhaps 
just as well, because we would have spent a whole 
lot of time watching the creatures, when we really 
should be getting along with our job. The moose 
seem so common about here that we shall have 
ample opportunity of seeing them under all sorts of 
conditions. It will be great fun hiding in these 
shallow ponds in the evenings and watching the 
various animals and birds. There doesn’t seem to 
be anything especially interesting in the way of 



6o TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


camping ground in this swamp. Let’s pull out and 
continue along the edge of the lake.” 

They were very quickly in the lake again and 
continuing their way found another small stream 
running into it a short distance beyond the beaver 
lodge island. They decided not to explore this 
brook but proceeded to where the main stream 
emptied itself into what they agreed to call Four 
Island Lake. This stream was so narrow and 
crooked that paddling was out of the question, so 
Charlie took the pole and with some difficulty forced 
the light craft against the current. The west bank 
was low and more or less covered with alders. 
Farther back the ground rose very gradually and 
for some little distance was open grass and scrub, 
with clumps of larch, birch, and spruces dotted 
about. The east bank rose gradually toward the 
high ridge with its crest of pale green beeches and 
maples. After a few hundred yards of hard poling 
another lake was entered; it was about five hundred 
yards long, and narrow. Standing up in the canoe, 
Charlie could see still another pond ahead and he 
suggested that it might be well to go ashore and 
climb a suitable tree and so get a general view of the 
country. This sounded like a good plan and was 
immediately put into effect. After going a short 
distance up the steep bank they came to a crooked 
maple which was easily climbed. The view thus 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 61 


obtained was a delightful surprise. As far as they 
could see to the north and west there was a succes- 
sion of ponds and lakes. Unlimited opportunities 
for exploring and evidently an ideal country for 
beaver. 

Having looked over the situation, Jack suggested 
going back to Four Island Lake and making their 
camp on the wooded side, where he was sure they 
would find a suitable place. After a careful search 
they decided on a site near the edge of a tiny 
stream of beautiful clear water which came tumbl- 
ing down among the boulders from the high hard- 
wood ridge. There was a small patch of fairly even 
ground with large trees about, so that abundant 
firewood could be procured without difficulty. The 
work of clearing the place occupied but a short 
time; then all the outfit was brought over from the 
trail, and the larger tent pitched so that it opened 
toward the lake. Some birch bark was peeled and 
a shelter made for the dining “room,” while the 
reserve of stores was put in the small shelter tent 
to be out of the way. Stones gathered from the 
brook were used for making a substantial fireplace. 

While they were ' at work their first visitors ar- 
rived: a pair of Canada jays; later a red squirrel 
came and perched himself on a nearby tree and 
gave the intruders a good scolding. The making 
of a table and seats was postponed till later as Jack 



62 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



Four Island Camp, where the boys lived for several months 


was very tired and suggested a little fishing by way 
of relaxation. Charlie, nothing loth, put his rod 
together and the two went out in the canoe. It 
was scarcely late enough in the afternoon when 
they started so for some time they had very little 
luck. Then they moved to the head of the lake 
and tried the inlet. Here things went better and 
within an hour or so enough trout had been caught 
to last for three meals. As there was no sense in 
catching more they returned to camp and prepared 
a good solid meal, after which they went off to the 
shallow pool where the moose had been seen that 
morning. 

This time the boys approached with the utmost 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 63 



The Canada jays, well named “ camp robbers took care that no food 
was wasted 


caution; instead of going up the stream they took 
the course through the tall grass which acted as a 
screen. It was slow work as the paddles could not 
be used. # Instead they caught hold of the grass 
and pulled their way along. Something was heard 
splashing about occasionally in the open water 
ahead. As the boys listened intently, trying to 
make out just where the sound came from, there 
was a singing whirr of wings and a duck passed 
within a few feet of their heads. The duck passed 
like a flash, then swung round and twice made the 
circle of the pond to make sure there was no danger. 
Strangely enough the presence of the canoe was not 
discovered for it finally alighted in the water not 



64 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


more then ten or twelve yards away. Needless to 
say the two crouching boys scarcely dared to 
breathe as they watched the unsuspecting duck 
swimming slowly away into the thicker grass. Be- 
fore many minutes it had disappeared, but there 
was still every reason to be exceedingly cautious; 
nearly half an hour was allowed to elapse before 
they moved forward again. The long waiting had 
been interesting, however, as the busy little musk- 
rats were continually passing to and fro, usually 
carrying grass or what looked like roots. Often 
they would stop within two or three feet of the 
canoe and stare enquiringly at the green craft. As 
it did not move their suspicions were allayed and 
they would pass on, probably wondering what new 
form of thing had come to dwell in their midst. At 
last it seemed safe for the boys to move forward 
again and in a few minutes they were within sight 
of the pool in the middle of which stood a very 
large bull moose with the water half way up his 
body. He was complacently munching the stems 
of spatterdock leaves. As he finished a mouthful 
he put his head completely under water for fully a 
minute and then brought up another bunch of 
leaves. What little breeze there was fortunately 
blew toward the canoe, so the boys were able to 
watch the big unsuspecting beast as long as they 
wished, without fear of detection so long as they 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 65 


remained absolutely quiet. The moose’s ungainly * 
head carried a pair of very large, thick horns which 
looked almost like huge cactus leaves; no con- 
spicuous points protruded as yet from the palma- 
tion, all of which was thickly covered with the 
membrane commonly called velvet. This gives a 
most uncouth appearance to what later would be 
handsome horns, or antlers, as they are more pro- 
perly called. 

The horns start to grow early in the spring and 
for some time are simply little knobs of soft dark 
skin of most curious texture and very sensitive to 
injury. All summer the growth continues, until 
the full size is attained with the approach of au- 
tumn. Then the velvet begins to dry up and 
gradually peels off. During this period the moose 
is usually shy and nervous, as though he resents 
being seen in such an untidy state. The antlers 
are in prime condition, hard and well polished, by 
the time the mating season arrives and their owner 
is ready to do battle with any of his kind and sex 
on the slightest provocation. The mating season 
having passed, the moose has no further use for 
the cumbersome head-gear so he sheds it with the 
coming of winter. 

For fully half an hour Charlie and Jack watched 
the large animal with intense interest, and during 
the time they saw two beaver swimming across the 



66 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


pond, but they were too far away to be seen dis- 
tinctly in the waning light. The sun had set some 
time before and the glow of the gorgeous twilight 
transformed the pond into a pool of gold against 
which loomed the bulk of the moose almost black by 
contrast. Deciding that it was better not to dis- 
turb or frighten the big beast the canoe was quietly 
moved through the grass, back to the lake and to 
camp. 



CHAPTER V 

The happenings in Beaver Town; Bebe the dog — a mid- 
night tragedy; Sneaky Bill makes temporary escape and 
does a deal in silver fox skins; the fire; Pete sells the fox 
skins; kind treatment by the Hudson's Bay Factor. The 
police take a hand. 

"DACK in the little town where the boys had 
taken the steamer nearly a week previous, In- 
dian Pete was much concerned about disposing of his 
silver fox skin. He knew its value pretty well, but 
knowing it and getting it were different things. He 
owed the Hudson’s Bay Company about sixty 
dollars, therefore, according to custom they should 
have the right to buy the skin. Perhaps if he 
waited a day or so the storeman would offer a 
better price; so he trudged back to the shanty 
where he was boarding with friends. The owner 
of the shanty was a half breed French Canadian 
named Henri Le Boeuf and his wife, Marie, a more 
or less full-blooded Indian distantly related to Pete. 
Besides them the only member of the household, 
not counting sundry poultry, was a dog named 


67 



68 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


Bebe, a huge creature of uncertain origin in which 
wolf showed very plainly. 

Bebe was a friendly animal to those he knew well, 
but his circle of acquaintances was exceedingly 
small; therefore he had all the more affection and 
devotion to give to the selected few. Those he did 
not know well usually kept clear of him. One 
look at the large white fangs bared at the slightest 
provocation was enough for even the most stout 
hearted. During the summer life was easy for the 
dog. Food was abundant and there was no work 
to do except to keep the chickens out of the house 
and garden, and see that no one came to the house 
when his master and mistress were out. Life there- 
fore would have been perfect but for the flies which 
kept him from unrestrained sleep. At night he 
always slept on the doorstep and no one not well 
known to him found it healthy to pay nocturnal 
visits. When the winter’s snows covered the 
ground Bebe’s days of indolence vanished. It was 
work, work, work; from daylight to dark, harnessed 
to a sled, he hauled great loads of logs cut in short 
lengths ready to be split for fire wood. No better 
dog was to be found in the neighbourhood and his 
master often boasted that Bebe could do almost 
as much as a horse, and this was not far from the 
truth. 

As Pete drew near to the simple house, carrying 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 69 


the sack containing the precious skin, Bebe quickly 
recognized him and came forward to lick his hand. 
Pete patted the massive head and spoke a few soft 
words of greeting in his own language. He then 
entered the shanty where all was quiet, Henri 
and his wife having retired some time before. On 
the table stood a bottle holding a candle which, 
when lit, revealed a loaf of home-made bread and a 
piece of pork, left ready for the evening meal. On 
the stove was the inevitable “pot” of tea simmering 
away, and strong enough to rot the inside of a 
bronze idol. Pete sat down and ate his meal, I 
was going to say silently but that would not have 
been true, for he was a noisy eater. Having finished 
he went to the little room that was his, carrying 
with him the fox skin. This he placed carefully 
on a swinging shelf where it would be safe from 
any hungry mice. Then taking off his moccasins 
and his rough jacket he threw himself down on the 
simple bed and was soon snoring serenely. While he 
slept and dreamed of selling the silver fox for a 
fabulous price, Bebe kept watch. 

It was long after midnight when in the darkness 
which precedes the dawn a figure might have been 
seen by any one with owl-like eyes creeping stealth- 
ily along the path which led to the shanty. The 
dog heard the almost imperceptible sound and 
pricked his sharp-pointed ears as he raised his hand- 



yo TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


some head. Many times the creeping figure 
stopped to listen. Then his arm moved swiftly 
and a small bundle silently thrown through the air 
dropped some twenty yards from the dog. In- 
stantly Bebe rose and darted out into the yard, 
just in time to see a figure running away at top 
speed. Without a moment’s hesitation the dog 
bounded after it uttering no sound as he went. The 
man, realizing that he was being followed and that 
he had no chance of getting away from the swift- 
footed beast, stopped and turned, at the same time 
raising an axe above his head. Quicker than a 
flash Bebe jumped at the man’s throat, but the axe 
caught him in mid air, cutting a great gash in the 
heavily coated shoulder. Still he managed to 
close with his assailant and drive his teeth into the 
man’s arm and closed his powerful jaw like a vise. 
But the wound from the axe was deep and after 
holding on for a few seconds the muscles relaxed 
and the magnificent animal fell to the ground. The 
man quickly picked up the weapon which had fallen 
from his lacerated arm and struck the poor brute a 
deadly blow on the head. 

Things had not gone as well as Sneaky Bill had 
hoped. Still he was comparatively safe if only 
he could get the dog’s body away and dispose of it 
before daylight. Already the sky was lightening 
along the eastern horizon. To bury the body 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 71 


would be dangerous as there would be no way of 
hiding the freshly disturbed earth. The lake 
offered the only solution. It was but a few hundred 
yards away, though the dog weighed nearly a 
hundred and fifty pounds he might drag it along; 
he could not carry it, for the tear in his arm was so 
painful that he found it impossible to lift the body 
to his shoulders. With some difficulty he dragged 
the load to the edge of the lake where the water 
was fairly deep. Placing the still warm body on a 
large flat rock he took the leather laces from his 
boots and tied a long narrow stone to the animars 
leg and pushed the body into the water where it 
sank immediately. 

In his hurry to dispose of the dog he had forgotten 
to cover up the blood stains where the encounter 
had taken place. He turned back cautiously, 
but before going more than half the distance he 
imagined that he heard the sound of voices in the 
direction of Le Boeuf’s house. Fear seized him; 
he hurried along the edge of the lake and took 
shelter in a clump of bushes; there he waited fearful 
of moving until the reassuring daylight came and 
gave him fresh courage. Not daring to be seen in 
his present condition he sought a quiet cove, where, 
unseen, he washed away all the tell-tale blood stains 
from his clothes and body. He would have liked 
to bandage his arm which was becoming extremely 



72 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


painful but he had no way of doing so. Instead, he 
put some tobacco juice on the wound hoping it 
would prevent blood poisoning. The smarting 
caused by the pungent fluid made him wince, but 
he had such a horror of poisoning that it was worth 
while suffering any pain to prevent it. 

Having made himself normally presentable he 
approached by the most circuitous route his home, 
a little one-room shack on the outskirts of the 
settlement. Fortune favoured him and he suc- 
ceeded in reaching his destination without meeting 
any one. He was hungry and dead tired after the 
happenings of the night so after a hasty meal he 
sought his filthy blankets and having no tender 
conscience to disturb him was soon sound asleep. 

The household of Henri Le Bceuf, knowing noth- 
ing of the night’s grim tragedy, awoke at their 
customary hour. Marie on opening the door was 
surprised at not seeing Bebe, for he always greeted 
her with the greatest effusion when first they met 
each morning. Thinking her dog would be back 
soon she went on with her duties, first of which was 
to let the poultry out from the tumbled down 
chicken shed. Her husband and Pete came out 
for their very perfunctory morning wash under the 
pump. Henri asked where the dog was and became 
greatly concerned when told that it had not been 
seen. He and Pete walked around the yard and 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 73 


soon came to where signs of a scuffle showed 
plainly on the earth. Dark stains were instantly 
recognized as blood, and the trail leading to the 
lake was quickly followed. The trail terminated 
among the boulders on the edge of the water. Be- 
yond that there was nothing to show what had 
happened. Henri could scarcely keep back the 
tears as he discussed the affair with Pete in a 
strange mixture of English, French, and Indian. He 
loved that faithful dog more than he had realized, 
and the certainty that he would never again see his 
pet hurt deeply. He and Pete swore deep vengeance 
on whoever had committed the foul deed, and they 
wondered what the motive could have been for 
such a dastardly act. 

As the two angry men stood there considering 
what to do, Marie’s voice was heard loudly calling 
them. Believing that she might have discovered 
something of interest they rushed up the hillside 
and found the woman in an excited condition hold- 
ing a scrap of torn meat in her hand. Near her 
were three chickens gasping in the throes of death. 
She tried to explain that the birds had been eating 
the meat when she noticed them acting queerly. 
Before any others could touch the meat she secured 
it. Without doubt the case was one of poison, 
and equally without doubt the meat had been in- 
tended for the dog. This was-all very mysterious. 



74 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


They could see no reason why any one should want 
to kill poor Bebe. Certainly it could not be for 
spite as, so far as they knew, they had no enemies. 
While they stood talking together the three hens 
died, so their bodies were picked up and taken to 
the shanty. Whether or not the matter should be 
reported to the police was the next question. Pete 
was against doing this as he was sure they could 
track down the crime themselves better than the 
police. Henri, however, felt that as a householder 
he was entitled to the protection of the law. After 
a long discussion it was decided to wait until the 
following day and in the meantime they would at 
least leave no stone unturned to secure further 
evidence. The footprints of the criminal were 
carefully examined and a certain irregularity in 
the hob-nails noted. Pete covered up one set of 
the prints with a board as a protection against rain. 

The fact that the tracks ended abruptly at the 
lake seemed to show that the man had escaped 
by canoe. Assuming this to be the case there was 
no way of following. The two indignant men 
therefore returned to see if they could find where 
the tracks led from. For some distance the foot- 
prints were easily followed, but later they became 
hopelessly mixed with numerous others. With 
extreme patience Henri and Pete examined the 
ground but wooden sidewalks tell no tales and in the 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 75 


end the search was abandoned and they returned 
home in disgust. 

It was late that morning before Sneaky Bill 
awoke, feeling much the worse for his experience. 
His shoulder hurt badly and made him afraid; yet 
he dared not go to a doctor, at least not at present, 
and perhaps if he waited another day it would be 
too late. As he lay on his bed he cursed himself 
for having been such a fool as to let the dog bite 
him. This mischance might easily spoil all his 
carefully arranged plans. Chewing a large quid of 
tobacco he lay there and thought of what to do. 
Plans were made and dismissed, always that 
wretched arm was the stumbling block. He 
needed both arms; he dared not let it be known that 
his arm was injured for in his guilty mind he 
imagined everyone would know immediately the 
cause of his injury. The necessity for quick action 
was imperative. Another day and he might be too 
late. So he finally decided to carry out a certain 
line of action without further loss of time. Accord- 
ingly he rose and after eating a hasty meal left 
the shack and proceeded to make a call on a friend 
of his. This friend, who was known only by the 
name of Sandy, lived in a small shack a couple of 
miles from the village. Bill reached the place and 
found the man sitting on his doorstep smoking. 

“Mornm’, Sandy,” he said to the old man. 



76 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


“ Morning Bill. What brings you round? Come 
to enquire after my health, eh?” 

“Got such a thing as a fox skin about you? I 
got a greenhorn who wants one and he’ll give me 
six or eight dollars for it. Wants it for his gal, I 
think. I sold de last one I had so I come here. I 
’member you had two or t’ree dat wasn’t no good, 
so 1 1 ’ought you let me have ’em cheap.” 

Sandy looked at his visitor whom he had known 
for many years. They had been mixed up in one 
or two rather shady transactions and neither could 
have shown a spotless conduct sheet. 

“Well, may be I have got what you want,” 
said the old chap, going inside the one-room shack. 
Soon he reappeared carrying two fox skins. One 
was a “part silver” which bore evident traces of 
captivity and for that reason had never been dis- 
posed of. There had been a lot of publicity regard- 
ing the losses in a certain fox farm some time ago. 
Sandy’s name had been mentioned rather freely 
and by no means favourably, hence this skin had 
never been offered for sale. The other skin was a 
defective gray of small value. Sneaky Bill took 
the two pelts in his hand and examined them criti- 
cally. As he did so he smiled ; certain ideas of his 
were not so very far from correct, he thought. 

“How much?” he said holding out the “part silver.” 

“Cash, or promise?” queried Sandy. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 77 


“Oh, I pay alright very soon,” was the reply. 

“Promise, not cash, eh? Well, forty dollars.” 

“ I Pink you means about fifteen,” he said, point- 
ing deliberately to the tell-tale marks of captivity. 
“An’ how much dis one?” touching the gray. 

“Five, and it’s damned cheap, too.” 

For a long time Bill thought without speaking. 
The gray could perhaps be “fixed” sufficiently well 
for his purpose, while the other would need very 
little done to it, if only he could obliterate certain 
marks which might cause trouble. But, after all, 
would that be necessary? In the end he decided to 
take the “part silver” with the promise that the 
money should be paid very soon. 

Sandy wondered as he watched the retreating 
figure. Of course the story of the greenhorn Was 
an obvious lie. Equally obvious was the fact that 
there was some crooked business on hand. Well, 
after all, it was no affair of his and he was very 
much relieved to have that skin out of the house. 
It had been a source of constant worry, for some 
months past. Fifteen dollars, if he ever got it, 
was worth more than a term in jail. In the col- 
lecting of that fifteen dollars it would be useful if he 
happened to know just a little about his friend’s 
plans so he determined to do a bit of detective 
work, and perhaps he might get even more than 
the amount promised. 



78 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


In the meantime Sneaky Bill was losing no time 
in getting to his shanty where he hid the fox skin. 
Then a visit to the general store, ostensibly to 
buy some food, where he got some dye. With 
these he returned and after securing his door, took 
out the skin and placed it in warm water. When 
it was sufficiently soft he carried out his dyeing 
operations according to his own ideas. The result 
was the changing of the “part silver” to a fairly 
good imitation of a “full silver.” This was dried 
to the proper shape and rolled up securely in a 
long paper package which could be placed inside 
his shirt, where it would be safe from prying eyes. 
This much done he sauntered along to the Hudson’s 
Bay store on the chance of meeting either Pete or 
Henri. On his way he happened to overhear some 
remarks about Henri’s dog having disappeared. 
Without appearing to be particularly interested he 
joined the group of loafers and asked casually 
what they meant by the disappearance of the dog. 

He was told that Henri was in a terrible way over 
the loss of his favourite animal, which he believed 
had been foully killed. At first Bill seemed incred- 
ulous but just then Pete came along and joined 
the group, and he added many details, but omitted 
to mention the discovery of the poison. On his 
alluding to the trail ending at the lake, Bill told 
how on the previous evening he had seen a fellow. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 79 


a stranger to him, land with a canoe just below 
Henri’s house; the canoe, a birch bark one, was 
hauled upon a large flat rock near a jagged cedar 
stump, and only this morning, while walking down 
to get something he had left near the steamer 
landing, he had seen a canoe about a mile down the 
lake. Out of idle curiosity he had watched, won- 
dering whose it was, when the man who was pad- 
dling stopped in a small cove and threw something 
heavy in the water. Whatever the thing was it 
made a big splash. Then the man went quickly 
to the store and disappeared into the trees carrying 
the canoe. At the time Bill had not given the 
matter much thought, but after hearing about 
the dog he wondered whether there might not be 
some connection between the loss of the dog and 
that man in the canoe. His listeners were fully 
agreed that the affair was worth consideration 
and Pete hurried back to tell his friend what had 
been said. 

Bill did not remain long with the group of idlers. 
He had other business to do and it was getting late. 
Already the sun was sinking below the trees. 

Scarcely fifteen minutes later Henri and Pete 
might have been seen in a canoe headed up the 
lake in the direction of the cove mentioned by Bill. 
During their absence there was quite a little ex- 
citement in the village. It was nothing less than a 


8o TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


fire, which in a settlement composed almost en- 
tirely of wooden buildings was a serious matter. 
Fortunately the wind was fairly light but even so 
there was no time to lose. Everyone flocked 
to where flame-streaked black smoke rose dark 
against the evening sky. The building which 
proved to be a small deserted cabin at the farther 
end of the village was too far gone, when the fire 
was discovered, to be saved, but other buildings 
in the vicinity were in danger from the falling 
sparks. Men, and women too, climbed on the 
endangered roofs and poured pails of water over 
the shingles, while the rest of the assembled crowd 
was busily engaged in carrying water in all sorts 
of vessels. It was not long before the burned build- 
ing was reduced to a mere heap of smouldering 
ashes, and these were thoroughly saturated with 
water to render them harmless. 

Among the crowd was Marie Le Boeuf and she 
was one of the first to leave the scene and return 
to her home. When she found that neither her 
husband nor Pete had returned, she busied herself 
preparing the men’s supper, while she wondered 
what was keeping them so late. Some time after 
darkness had set in, voices were heard in the direc- 
tion of the lake and soon the two men appeared. 
From the depressed expression on their faces it 
was easy to see that luck had not been with them, 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 81 


and she knew her question was a useless one. 
Yet she asked their news, and there was none. 
Following the information given by Bill they 
had gone to the cove but had found no trace of 
any man or canoe, what tracks they found being all 
old. 

After making a careful search they had returned 
determined to ask Bill further particulars about the 
landing place of the canoe. This they decided 
should be done next day, as it was now late. 

The following morning as soon as breakfast was 
finished, Henri and Pete went off to interview 
Sneaky Bill. He was not at home, nor did any one 
know what had become of him. Some boys had 
seen him on the previous evening shortly after the 
fire and that was all the news they could gather. 
The man seemed to have disappeared completely. 

Late in the afternoon Pete decided to make an- 
other attempt to sell the silver fox skin. He needed 
money; so taking the precious bundle from the 
hanging shelf he proceeded to the Hudson’s Bay 
store. The clerk smiled at seeing him and asked 
whether he had come to his senses and was willing 
to take two hundred dollars. 

“No,” replied Pete. “You give me two honded 
dollar cash, and one honded trade. You know 
damn well dat plenty cheep.” 

“Look here, Pete, I’ll give you one hundred and 



82 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


fifty cash and one hundred trade. That’s the best 
I can do.” 

The Indian looked at him a moment and said: 
“very good, here de fox, take ’em.” 

Again the clerk smiled as he took the bundle and 
laid it on a pile of cracker boxes. Then going to 
the safe he counted out the money and handed it 
over to Pete. Having done this he made an entry 
in his books giving the man one hundred dollars 
credit. Later he would look up the Indian’s debt 
and balance the account. The skin was taken out, 
as the Indian wanted the sack back, but something 
about it struck the experienced clerk as peculiar, 
and he opened it out. Pete also noticed the skin, 
and the eyes of the two men met. 

“What the blazes does this mean? That’s not 
the skin you showed me the other night. Trying 
a flim-flam on me, eh!” 

Pete was dumfounded. But what did it all 
mean? The skin was certainly not the one he had 
been guarding so carefully. Without saying a 
word he picked up and examined it critically. The 
tell-tale marks of captivity had not been entirely 
concealed. A gleam of sun showed the peculiar 
tone that is so hard to disguise in dyeing. He 
scratched his shiny black hair and remarked 
simply: 

“I don’ know.” His surprise was so evidently 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 83 


genuine that the clerk was convinced of the man’s 
innocence of any attempt at fraud; also that there 
was something peculiar at the back of it all. So 
he called the Factor and between them they got the 
story of the killing of the dog, and the poison, for 
Pete thought he had better tell all he knew. 

MacPherson decided it was a case for the police 
and sent round for the sergeant to come over to 
the store. In the meantime the Indian was doing 
some careful thinking. Who could have done this 
dirty trick? Was it possible that Henri was im- 
plicated? He and his wife had known all about the 
skin and where it had been kept. But then surely 
they would not have killed the dog, even as a blind. 
While he was trying to work out the various details 
and going over all that happened during the past 
days, the sergeant arrived — a big, burly good- 
natured man named Robinson. A man liked, 
respected and, by the wrong doers greatly feared, 
for his cool persistence in tracking down criminals 
had earned him an enviable reputation. He lost 
no time in getting all the facts, took possession of 
the questionable fox skin, and walked with Pete 
and MacPherson to Henri’s house. All that he 
learned from the Le Boeufs corresponded exactly 
with Pete’s account. The house was duly examined 
both inside and out, then the tracks which had been 
covered by the board. Robinson made detailed 



84 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


notes of all items; one of the hens that had died 
was taken for examination, also the piece of meat. 
Then after warning all concerned to do no unneces- 
sary talking, but to keep their eyes open and report 
anything likely to be of value, he went away with 
MacPherson. Not until then had he expressed 
any opinion as to who had committed the double 
crime. 

“I want to find that dead dog,” he said; “ there 
may be some interesting evidence there. Next 
we have got to find out where that skin came from, 
and in doing so we will find out something that 
may solve the trouble there was on that fox farm of 
Ragland. Somehow I believe that skin came from 
there. The poison won’t be much of a clue, 
so many men keep it for killing wolves. The only 
point about it is, why, when the skunk, whoever he 
is, had decided to poison the dog, should he have 
let himself get mixed up with the animal as he 
evidently did?” 

“Managed a bit badly,” replied MacPherson. 
“Perhaps the dog caught him in the act of leaving 
that piece of meat and took him unawares. I think 
Pete’s innocent, don’t you? ” 

“Yes, I’d bet on that. He is a pretty decent 
sort and when that Raglan fox farm episode oc- 
curred Pete was miles away up country trapping, 
and could not possibly have had any direct hand 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 85 


in it. The fellow who did that job got a pretty 
bad scare and has never, so far as we can learn, 
made any attempt to dispose of the skins. There 
were two of them stolen, and I am absolutely cer- 
tain this is one of the two. The question is, did 
the man who stole that skin kill the dog so that he 
could sneak into Le Boeuf’s and exchange the 
Raglan skin for the silver that Pete had? or are 
there two chaps mixed up in the deal? I think 
we have a rather interesting job on our hands. ,, 

“Yes, I think so too, but it’s rather rough on 
poor old Pete. Pete certainly comes out on the 
slim end of the deal. I expect I shall have to ad- 
vance the poor beggar some cash as he is pretty well 
strapped. If he ever gets a hold on the scoundrel 
that played the trick on him there will be a sample 
of administration of primitive justice I’m think- 
ing, and then Pete will be in hot water.” 

“Yes,” replied Robinson, thoughtfully, “that’s 
just the trouble. We must get hold of Pete and 
urge him to be careful and not take things into his 
own hands. But of course that’s easier said than 
done. Once these Indians get a real grudge against 
a man they much prefer to do the punishing with 
their own hand, regardless of cost, rather than see 
the chap sentenced in proper and very legal way to 
ten years’ ‘hard,’ and I’m hanged if I blame the 
blighters. I know I have often felt like playing the 



86 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


personal part of Lord High Executioner instead of 
doing everything in the cold-blooded legal way.” 

On reaching the store the two men separated, 
for, as the sergeant said, he had a good handful of 
work and trouble ahead of him. An hour or so 
later, Pete, in a very dejected frame of mind, 
came in and asked to see the Factor. In his hand 
he held the hundred and fifty dollars which he had 
received for the skin. It was all in the world he 
had and that must of course be given up now. 
So without a word he handed the money over to 
MacPherson. The old Scotchman scarcely knew 
what to do. There was no obligation on him to 
help the Indian and no real reason why he should 
not take the money back. Yet somehow the 
proceedings went against the grain. In his long 
years of dealing with the Indians he had found the 
two absolutely distinct types, the good and the bad, 
and it had been his experience that the good could 
always be trusted to play fair. So he took Pete into 
the office and explained with some feeling of em- 
barrassment that he would not take back the 
money. If the skin never turned up, then Pete 
must repay by installments in skins. But in the 
meantime the money was his, and if he died before 
repayment, MacPherson would have to put it 
down to profit and loss. MacPherson added 
that he fully believed the skin would turn up. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 87 


He then gave the Indian some good advice as to 
avoiding taking the law into his own hands. Hav- 
ing done this he gave the man a cigar and bade 
him good-night. 

It was a quiet, thoughtful, and very grateful 
Indian that walked slowly back to Le Bceuf’s hut. 
MacPherson might be hard on a bargain, but he 
was a man, through and through, and Pete swore 
he’d repay the unexpected kindness at any cost. 
During the two following days, Sergeant Robinson 
was busy with his men on various trails. The 
results were not very valuable, but some of the 
clues might possibly lead to interesting discoveries. 
A search of Sneaky Bill’s shanty had not revealed 
as much as Robinson expected. In his heart he 
believed Bill to be the culprit. Yet beyond the 
fact that he had vanished at such a critical time, 
there was not a single incident that coupled his 
name with the crime, and after all his sudden dis- 
appearance might not mean anything. Bill was 
a man of wandering habits, and was often away 
for weeks or even months without any reason, so 
far as his neighbours knew. Some dark stains on 
the filthy floor of the shanty were the only things of 
interest that the sergeant discovered in the hut, 
and outside a dark patch on the ground where some 
liquid had been emptied. A sample of the stained 
earth was taken for analysis. 



88 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


On the evening of the second day somewhat to 
the sergeant’s surprise, when he heard of it, 
Sneaky Bill returned. On his arrival by canoe, he 
made straight for Henri Le Bceuf’s hut and told 
of having found the body of the dog floating among 
the rocks near the shore. Pete, it may be men- 
tioned, had been sitting on a large upturned root 
smoking and thinking, and he had watched Bill 
come in close to shore, then he saw him stop to 
examine something in the water. Bill had then 
looked about him quickly but Pete was not sure 
whether or not his presence had been discovered. 
The next thing he saw was Bill landing and walking 
quickly to Henri’s hut, whereupon Pete slipped 
down to the shore and found the dead dog. With- 
out touching the swollen body he made straight 
for the police station and informed the sergeant of 
his discovery. After a moment’s thought the 
sergeant told him to hurry back and say nothing of 
having reported the matter, but keep a good look- 
out for further happenings, and if possible prevent 
Henri touching the dog that night. So it was that 
Pete returned to the Le Boeufs just in time to see 
Henri and his wife walking down the bank with 
Bill. He followed the two as fast as he dared and 
caught up with them when they were still a few 
yards from the water. Le Bceuf’s wife and Bill 
were slightly ahead. Pete quickly whispered a 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 89 


few words to Henri and then stopped as they all 
did to gaze at the dead dog. Bill was about to 
pull the bo’dy ashore but Henri stopped him, saying 
it would be better to wait till morning when they 
could bury the dog by daylight. 

Scarcely had they returned to the shanty before a 
canoe came quietly along close to the shore. In 
the canoe were two men who threw a piece of net 
around the dog and without making any sound 
paddled back to where they had come from, towing 
the body. 

Sneaky Bill did not stay long with the Le Boeufs, 
and on leaving, bid them good-night and hoped they 
would catch the fellow who had killed the dog. 
No word had been said about the fox skin, though 
Bill was expecting to hear something about it. 
Apparently he went directly home, but after going a 
few hundred yards he doubled back among the 
brush, back of Le Boeuf’s hut, and making a large 
circle came eventually to the place where but half 
an hour before he had stood looking at the dog. 
He could scarcely believe his eyes. Stare as hard 
as he could no sign of the body was discovered. 
In vain he crawled on his hands and knees among 
the boulders, and he was forced to the belief that 
the dog had vanished in some mysterious way. 
The more he considered the disappearance, the 
more alarming did it seem. Fear gripped him hard 



9 o 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


as he made his way to his shanty. He did not know 
just what he expected to find there, and the fact 
that all was in darkness scarcely reassured him. 
For over an hour he waited about outside before 
plucking up courage to venture in, and having 
at last entered he dared not light a candle. In 
the dark he groped about until he found some 
crackers which he ate eagerly, stopping every short 
while to listen. Having satisfied the gnawings of 
hunger, he threw himself on the blankets to doze 
fitfully for several hours. 

About one o’clock he determined to light a candle 
and see whether any one had been in the hut during 
his absence. Things had not been disturbed to any 
extent but his keen eyes noticed certain signs which 
left no doubt in his mind that someone had been 
making a search among his scant possessions. He 
smiled as he thought of the care he had exercised 
in arranging things so as to hide all evidence of his 
guilt. Yet the fact that the place had been searched 
proved that he was under suspicion. It was 
perfectly evident to his disturbed mind that the 
greater distance he could place between himself 
and his present inquisitive neighbours the better 
it would be for him. The sooner he moved, the 
farther he could set before daylight. So, without 
waiting to do much packing, he threw a hunk of 
pork into a sack, with a small bag of flour, some tea, 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


9i 


sugar and matches, and one blanket which he hoped 
would not be missed and off he went into the night. 

Early next morning Sergeant Robinson came to 
Bilks shanty only to find his bird had flown. This 
in a way was satisfactory for it fastened the guilt 
a little more firmly on the man’s shoulders. The 
examination of the dog’s body had given the new 
bootlace as a clue worth following. The clerk in the 
Hudson’s Bay store had identified it as one of 
theirs and declared he had only sold one new pair 
within the past six weeks and that was to Sneaky 
Bill. Now the question was, what had become of 
Sneaky Bill? Of course in a wild, trackless country 
with its endless waterways a man can hide for 
months, but in the end the net spread by those 
whose duty it is to enforce law and order will be 
almost certain to catch the criminal. No time was 
lost in sending out the alarm in every direction, with 
full description of the culprit. 


J 


CHAPTER VI 

For the present we must leave Sneaky Bill to the care 
of the police and those he had wronged while we return 
to Charlie and Jack. 

They make camp comfortable. Big-ears the hare. Some 
Canada jays make themselves at home; a trip up the chain 
of lakes; catch some trout and lose them; the spruce part- 
ridge; a loon’s nest; bad weather sets in; return to camp; a 
thief’s work; go to Beaver Town for more food; report their 
loss. 

npHE next few days (after the experiences re- 
counted in Chapter IV) were devoted almost 
entirely to making the camp comfortable. Fur- 
niture, such as tables, chairs, and shelves had to be 
made. The construction of a shelter over the 
table and up to the edge of the fire occupied some 
little time. The shelter was made of fairly stout 
uprights with forked tops; into the crotches strong 
cross bars were laid and across these, lighter ones 
at close intervals were fastened by means of pliable 
viburnum or witherod; then large sheets of birch 
bark were cut and laid over-lapping each other in 
order to shed water. To avoid the possibility of 


92 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 93 


fire, sandy mud taken from the lake was used as a 
covering, so that sparks would not fall on the in- 
flammable bark. This roof was about twelve feet 
square, and eight feet high at the upper side. . Each 
day an hour or two was devoted to cutting fire 
wood and piling it up in a neat heap, with a good 
supply of birch bark for kindling. 

While out one day searching for bark, Charlie 
came upon a young hare feeding in the woods. 
The little creature showed not the slightest fear 
and allowed Charlie to approach within four 
or five feet. Even then it scarcely stopped eating. 
It would bite off some particularly succulent plant 
and eat this while sitting on its absurdly large hind 
legs, all the while looking at the intruder with a 
comical expression which was accentuated by the 
continual flopping about of immense ears. At the 
same time its nose kept wriggling with surprise 
at the strange scent of man. 

After about a quarter of an hour Charlie leaned 
down very carefully and caught the little fellow, 
but even this did not cause it any very great con- 
cern. When Charlie offered it some young leaves 
they were accepted as though there was nothing 
peculiar in the proceeding. All of which was 
rather astonishing. Taking the confiding animal 
back to camp Charlie introduced it to Jack, who 
suggested giving it some soda cracker soaked in 



94 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



Big-ears , the young hare , was Charlie’s greatest pet 


condensed milk. Master hare approved thoroughly 
of this dainty dish and when he had finished, looked 
about enquiringly for some more, even following 
Jack into the tent when he went for another cracker. 
All day long the little animal stayed about camp 
entirely contented in the new surroundings. 
At night the boys arranged a bed for their new pet 
inside the tent, where it slept peacefully. 

During these days the weather did not behave 
very well. There were numerous showers and 
cool wind, while the sun scarcely showed itself. 
Under such conditions the work about camp was 
the best occupation as there was no temptation to 
go off on exploring trips, and the coolness enabled 




Canada jays and red squirrels took their meals with the hoys 


the boys to do the heavy work in comparative 
comfort. Woodcutting on a hot summer day is 
by no means a desirable job. 

A family of four Canada jays looked upon the 
camp as their own property and spent most of their 
time watching the occupants work. During meal 
times the birds became almost too friendly as 
they sat on the table and helped themselves without 
ceremony to whatever took their fancy. It was 
great fun watching them, except when they seized 
a bit of food almost out of the boys’ mouths. 

By the time the camp had been made really 
comfortable the weather changed for the better 
so a trip was planned with the intention* of explor- 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



96 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


ing the surrounding country. A light outfit 
was arranged and the two boys started one fine 
morning, working in a northwesterly direction. 

What to do with the hare was a difficult question 
and in the end it was decided to take the little 
creature with them. Some leaves and small 
plants were gathered and put into the canoe to- 
gether with the hare who seemed perfectly satisfied. 

By paddling, poling, and occasionally portaging 
they made their way through the succession of 
ponds which formed part of the stream. Nearly 
every pond contained one or more beaver lodges 
and most of the ponds were formed by dams. On 
coming into one of the smaller ponds a family of 
beaver was surprised sunning themselves on a 
grassy bank. The family consisted of Mrs. 
Beaver and her five youngsters, little fluffy crea- 
tures, rather grayer and lighter in colour than 
the mother. Unfortunately there was no time 
to see them properly as they scuttled into the 
water with annoying rapidity. Nor did they again 
show themselves though the boys waited nearly 
an hour hidden in the grass. While they were 
watching, a cow moose nearly walked over them, 
and it was a question which was the more surprised 
at the unexpected meeting. 

On the shores of the fourth pond a deserted 
trapper’s log cabin was found. It was entirely 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 97 


empty and except by squirrels and mice had 
evidently not been used for several years. While 
walking about the woods near the shanty, Charlie 
came upon a spruce partridge, or grouse. She was 
in a terribly agitated state at seeing a human 
being. One of her wings appeared to be broken, 
also a leg, and she flopped about in a most amusing 
way. Charlie called out to his companion to 
come, and Jack, approaching from behind the bird, 
nearly trod on two chickens. One of these he 
managed to catch which added greatly to the 
mother bird’s consternation. She tried by every 
means in her power to attract attention to herself, 
but the boys knew the trick and after a short 
time liberated the youngster. Instantly it ran off. 
Not toward its parent but in an opposite direc- 
tion, and was almost instantly lost to view. Search 
as they might, no sign of it could be found. In 
some way the old bird knew when her brood 
was safe and with a suddenness that was truly 
astonishing became cured of all her infirmities and 
ran off at full speed. The boys, anxious to see 
what would happen, climbed up a tree and waited 
quietly. In about a quarter of an hour, a very 
small peep was heard, then another. These were 
immediately answered by the mother call, and 
within a minute eight or nine small brown fluffy 
chickens were back with their mother. 



98 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


“ Funny idea that,” said Charlie, “ pretending to 
be disabled so as to induce us to follow her. I 
wonder if it ever works.” 

“I suppose it does or they wouldn’t try it! 
Nearly all birds seem to try the same trick. It 
always seems to me that it only attracts attention 
to the fact that the young are somewhere near by. 
Whether their four-footed enemies reason things 
out along the same lines, as we do, I would like to 
know.” 

“So would I, Jack, but I don’t know of any way 
of finding it out. These spruce partridge are 
the birds commonly called Tool hens,’ I suppose. 
They must be queer idiots to allow people to catch 
them with a noose on the end of a fishing rod, and 
yet I have been told that this is often done.” 

“Yes, but I believe it is really true. What do 
you say to going out to that island?” Jack re- 
marked, pointing to a scrub covered island in the 
middle of the pond. 

“Personally I should very much prefer some grub 
before doing anything else. My tummy is much 
more interested in food than islands, which is not 
to be wondered at, considering the hour.'” 

As they sat on the edge of the pond eating their 
cold lunch, a loon was seen swimming toward the 
island. The loon landed on the farther side so the 
boys could not see when it disappeared, but 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 99 


as it did not appear again there was every reason to 
suppose its nest was there. Having finished lunch, 
no time was lost in making their way to the island. 
On approaching they paddled very quietly, peering 
among the scrub covered sand and stones. But 
though they went completely around the island no 
sign of the loon was seen. Once more they paddled 
round, this time still closer to the shore but still 
nothing could be seen of the bird. So they beached 
the canoe, and, as Charlie was about to land, the 
loon darted off her nest almost under his feet. She 
dived under water immediately and did not come 
to the surface until she was fully a hundred yards 
away. Then she swam backward and forward 
uttering her strange cries at regular intervals and 
flopping about as though disabled. Under a low 
bush the nest was found with its two long, dull 
olive coloured eggs. This was the first time the 
boys had ever seen a loon’s nest so it was not to be 
wondered at that they were delighted at the inter- 
esting discovery. Having duly examined the nest 
and eggs they left the little island, greatly to the 
relief of the pair of excited birds. 

At the north end of the fourth lake a small stream 
was found flowing through a tract of swampy land 
and leading into this, from the west, was another 
and smaller stream which was dammed in three 
places. Above the upper and larger dam was quite 



100 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


a small pond with a fine beaver lodge on its north 
shore. Back from this a large poplar grove 
stretched up toward the higher ground. This 
grove had evidently furnished the colony with 
food during the previous winter as the ground was 
strewn with numerous cut and partly peeled 
trunks lying among the sharp pointed stumps. 
The boys did not spend much time in this beaver 
settlement, but made note of the place to be 
visited later, when the animals began their prepara- 
tions for winter. The afternoon was getting along 
and there was still much to be explored before 
making camp for the night; so they returned to the 
stream and pushed the canoe against the swift 
current of the narrow water course. It was hard 
going owing to the numerous sharp bends, but 
fortunately the distance was only a few hundred 
yards and then to their surprise they came to a long 
lake, in the middle of which there was a narrow, 
thickly wooded island about four hundred yards in 
length. The greater part of this island was only 
fifty or sixty yards in width but the northern end 
widened out forming an irregular circle of grass- 
covered ground some two hundred yards across. 
By unanimous agreement this was decided on as the 
camping place for the night. There is a certain 
fascination about an island that appeals strongly 
to us all, old or young. Just why this should be is 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND ioi 


difficult to say, but probably it goes back to the 
primitive idea of the security afforded by a sur- 
rounding of water. For young people the island 
should be small and this one was exactly right. 
There was an ample supply of wood for fires, while 
the lake yielded water as clear as crystal. 

It was decidedly too early to settle down for the 
night; so when camp was made and wood cut 
ready for the fire, Charlie suggested they should 
make a trip to the extreme north end of the lake 
where the hills rose abruptly to a considerable 
height. Here they found a small stream which 
came tumbling down the steep slopes forming a 
miniature cascade where it fell into the lake. 
Several trout were seen to rise in the swirl at the 
edge of the white foam. This was too much of a 
temptation and without a word both lads got their 
rods out and started casting. There are times and 
places when fishing is too good to be interesting and 
this was an example of such fishing. With three 
flies on a leader, it meant three trout hooked the 
moment the water was touched. In playing the 
three, one would frequently get off, but instantly 
another trout took the unoccupied fly. The fish 
ran from a quarter to half a pound with an occasional 
larger one. For a few minutes it was rather good 
fun, but even though after the first few casts only 


io2 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


word. So after catching and keeping two dozen of 
the plumpest fish Jack suggested that they land 
and take a walk up the highest hill and have a look 
at the surrounding country. A good landing place 
was soon found and they started up the densely 
wooded slope. Owing to the great number of 
windfalls the walking was difficult, and as usual 
in the case of hill climbing the distance proved to be 
very much greater than it appeared from the lake. 
After about half an hour of arduous work the golden 
glow in the sky warned the young explorers that 
they had better return at once if they expected 
to reach the island in time to cook a meal before 
dark. The prospect of those nice trout for dinner 
made them hurry down the hillside at dangerous 
speed, and they soon brought up at the canoe 
thoroughly out of breath. 

As they pushed the canoe into the water Jack 
happened to notice the place where the trout had 
been left, but not a sign of a fish was to be seen. 
What had taken them no one could say. The 
cold and bitter fact remained that they would not 
have those fine fat trout for dinner. 

“Let’s have a try for some more. It won’t take 
us but a few minutes to catch enough for to-night,” 
Charlie remarked. 

“ Right you are. We must get three or four while 
it is still more or less daylight. But I would like 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 103 


to know what in the name of the great bull moose 
took those fish.” 

“Some lightning raider, I should say, Jack. 
Perhaps the lake is haunted and the ghost of the 
cascade has taken our catch for his family dinner. 
Well, never mind, we’ll know better next time, but 
in the meanwhile here we are, so let’s at ’em.” 

Scarcely an hour had elapsed since they had 
stopped fishing, but what a change had taken place 
in that short time! Cast as carefully as possible 
not a fish rose. Flies were changed but without 
effect and so in the end the two very hungry and 
disgusted boys paddled to the island camp and 
proceeded to cook a comparatively slender meal of 
fried bacon and slap-jacks. 

The hare, which had been christened “Big-ears,” 
was found feeding in the camp, perfectly contented. 
While the boys were engaged in cooking opera- 
tions a curious whirr was heard. This was re- 
peated several times before the cause was 
discovered. The island, because of its safety, was 
used as a roosting place for a number of ruffed 
grouse, and the birds were seen in the dim light 
flying across from the surrounding shores. It was 
fortunate for those birds that both boys had been 
brought up to regard all game laws as sacred. 
Otherwise some of them might have been dis- 
illusioned as to the safety of the island. 


104 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


Early next morning a visit was paid to the cas- 
cade, Jack having suggested that trout for break- 
fast would be very acceptable. Fortunately the 
fish were so well behaved that within twenty 
minutes a couple of dozen beauties were landed 
and the young fishermen had a delicious breakfast 
of some of these freshly caught trout. After 
clearing up the camp another attempt was made 
to reach the top of the high hill. This time the 
fish were hung on a branch out of the reach of any 
four-footed thief. From the summit of the hill 
there was a splendid view of the surrounding 
country. To the right the main river could be 
seen winding its way like a silver thread among the 
densely wooded country. On the left were a 
series of small lakes joined by a stream which ran 
down in a northerly direction till it reached the 
large river. Here and there other ponds and 
lakes were observed dotted about among the hills. 

While they were examining the country and 
getting a general idea of various waterways the 
sky became overcast. Evidently a storm was 
brewing so the boys decided to return to the lake 
and await developments. Scarcely had they 
reached the canoe than the rain commenced, so 
they made straight for the island, and hurriedly 
put up the little shelter tent. The wind which was 
blowing from the north increased in violence while 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 105 


the rain fell in torrents. All day this continued 
without any intermission, and the hours dragged 
along with monotonous slowness. To make a fire 
under the conditions was no easy task, but event- 
ually under the shelter of an upturned root they 
succeeded in getting one started and so were able 
to cook some sort of a meal. The morning’s 
catch came in most useful as without them there 
would have been nothing but bacon, and of course 
the inevitable slap-jacks. 

Night came on without any change in the 
weather, but it was rather cosy being marooned on 
the little island, and the boys were lulled to sleep 
by the waves which slapped noisily on the weather 
shore. 

The next morning offered no hope of a change, so 
it was decided to make a bolt back to the home 
camp. With the wind blowing a gale behind them 
the canoe flew over the small white crested waves 
and down the crooked stream which linked to- 
gether the numerous ponds. Altogether it was 
rather good fun in spite of the driving rain which 
made it necessary to keep bailing the canoe almost 
incessantly. The whole run was made in remark- 
ably quick time and the boys hailed with delight 
the view of the Four Island Camp for they were 
soaked through, and most anxious to get into some 
dry clothes. The canoe was quickly landed and 



io6 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


hauled up on the bank and turned over. The two 
small packs were then taken into the large tent. 

“What the mischief has happened here!” said 
Jack, as he threw back the flap. 

Charlie following quickly saw that someone had 
evidently been in during their absence. Every- 
thing was upset and scattered about in utter con- 
fusion. 

“What do you suppose it means, Jack? Looks 
as though whoever it was, had been searching for 
something. Even the pockets of our extra clothes 
have been turned inside out. I wonder what is 
missing. Lucky we left no money behind.” 

The result of their search showed that one pair of 
blankets was missing. Also some underwear. 
Nearly all the tea, sugar, and bacon, and more 
than half the supply of flour had been taken. The 
situation was serious and difficult to explain, as 
honesty in the woods is taken for granted. Noth- 
ing could be learned from foot-prints because of 
the heavy rain, and the thief had left no other clue 
to his identity. 

“We are up against the pleasant task of going 
back to the Hudson’s Bay store and laying in a 
new supply of grub,” observed Jack, after careful 
examination of the remaining outfit. 

“So I imagine,” Charlie replied. “But what 
are we going to do with the things we leave behind 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 107 


here, for that light fingered chap will probably pay 
us another visit?” 

“It would be best to make a bundle of all our 
stuff and hide it up a tree. I should think then it 
would be reasonably safe from all sorts of thieves. 
We might as well get things ready now so that we 
can make an early start to-morrow, if the weather 
changes for the better.” 

But as it happened the storm continued until 
late the following afternoon. Then the rain 
stopped and the outfit that was to be left behind 
was carefully hidden in the crotch of a large birch 
tree a couple of hundred yards from the camp. 
Early next morning, after saying good-bye to 
Big-ears, who was left behind as it would not have 
been feasible to take him on the long trip, a start 
was made with a very light outfit. 

Fortunately the weather was fine, clear and cool 
with a good breeze blowing from the north. This 
was favourable for the trip, so also was the swollen 
river which carried the canoe along at wonderful 
speed. In an incredibly short time the first lake 
was reached. 

As the wind was directly behind them, a piece of 
the small shelter tent was arranged on the pole. 
This served as a sail which made paddling scarcely 
necessary. The few miles of still water were soon 
passed and the sail was taken down before the 


io8 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



The spruce partridge quiets down now that she knows her young are 
safely hidden 


river was reached. Coming from the comparative 
quiet of the lake the boys started down the turbu- 
lent river. The canoe, like a thing alive, danced 
over the bubbling, white-capped crests of the 
waves. It was a delightful and exhilarating sensa- 
tion and no work was required beyond keeping the 
light craft in the centre of the current and dodging 
an occasional racing log. With such speed the 
various camp sites could scarcely be distinguished 
as the canoe made its way past the wooded banks. 
What had taken the boys four days to do against 
the stream was now done in a single day and both 
agreed it was the finest day’s travelling they had 
ever enjoyed. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 109 



The hoys started down the turbident river. The canoe danced over the 
bubbling , white-capped crests of the waves 


The steamer’s landing place was reached just 
before dark. By good luck the boat was due the 
following afternoon, and when she came the old 
captain gave the two wanderers a most hearty 
welcome. On hearing of the cause for their un- 
expected return the captain looked serious as he 
remarked : 

“ There is only one low-down cuss in the whole 
country who would do such a dirty trick and that is 
Sneaky Bill.” 

Then he told of what had happened at the village 
after Charlie and Jack had left. Putting two and 
two together the general opinion was that Bill 
knew more about the changing of that silver fox 



no TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


skin and the death of the dog than any one else. 
Next day the steamer reached her destination and 
the two boys went directly to the Hudson’s Bay 
store and reported the stealing of their supplies to 
MacPherson. He took them over to the police 
station where the story was repeated to the ser- 
geant, who was greatly concerned. He decided it 
would be well to send a couple of men up country 
with the boys when they returned the following 
day. 

During the afternoon fresh supplies were pur- 
chased and put on the steamer ready for the early 
morning start. Several letters were received 
from home which gave the good news that Evelyn 
with her father and mother would be coming for a 
whole month and they might be expected to arrive 
on the tenth, instead of the sixteenth of September, 
as originally planned. In replying to the letters, 
full details were given where they should all meet 
but it was thought best to omit all mention of 
the stolen food, as it would only cause unnecessary 
worry, and could not possibly do any good. The 
old Factor invited the two boys to stay the night 
at his house and was extremely kind to them. 
He promised to take care of the Sylvesters when 
they arrived and send up enough provisions with 
them to last the whole party a month. 



CHAPTER VII 

Return to Four Island Camp with Cooper a'nd Gibson; 
Big-ears becomes very tame, so does a jay; jealousy results; 
Gibson gets on the trail of the thief, and loses it; the boys 
are left alone again . 

r T A HE trip back to Four Island Camp by steamer 
and canoe was entirely uneventful. The two 
policemen proved interesting companions. Both 
were thorough woodsmen and handled their canoe 
in away that called forth the admiration of the boys. 
Their names were Richard Cooper and Frank Gibson. 
Cooper was a fine type of the athletic Englishman 
of good family, but being a younger son he had been 
sent out to Canada to fend for himself; he was 
given less than a hundred pounds capital with 
which to start life and a collection of the usual 
unsuitable articles, such as innumerable boots 
varying from tennis shoes to fine hunting boots, 
golf clubs, saddlery, canteen outfit, cricket bats, 
tennis racquets, medicine cases, etc. Nearly all 
of which had been chucked away within a few 
weeks after his arrival in the new land. Being of. 


hi 



ii2 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


a roving disposition he wandered over various parts 
of the country and by chance met an old school- 
mate who was in the police. The accounts of the 
life appealed very strongly to young Cooper who, 
it may be remarked, had managed by this time to 
get rid of nearly all his money and, thinking he 
would be stationed with his friend, he joined. To 
his disgust, as soon as he had completed his training, 
he was sent to a place hundreds of miles from his 
friend. But all that was forgotten. He had been 
now several years in his present station and was 
perfectly happy and had done some very good work. 
In fact rumour had it that he was up for promotion 
within a short time, as the sergeant had recom- 
mended him strongly. 

Frank Gibson, though of humbler birth than his 
companion, was a good, wholesome, clean-cut man. 
He too had come out from the Old Country to seek 
his fortune and chance had caused him to join 
the police. He was noted for his persistence in any 
work he undertook. Yet at the same time he 
lacked ambition and was quite content to go on 
doing his duty with conscientious determination, 
without thinking of reward beyond his ordinary 
pay, and nearly half of his money went home 
regularly to his widowed mother and sister. His 
only ambition was to go back before many years 
to visit the home he had left when only seventeen 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 113 


years old. He was never weary of talking about 
that home down in Devon where his mother kept 
a tiny country shop, an institution which barely 
paid its own expenses. 

With such companions it is needless to say that 
the time passed only too quickly. The late evening 
of the third day out found the four travellers carry- 
ing their loads over MacPherson’s trail and the 
camp was reached just before dark. To Charlie’s 
and Jack’s great delight the first thing that greeted 
them on their arrival was Big-ears. As no mention 
of the little hare had been made to Gibson and 
Cooper they were somewhat surprised to see the 
funny little creature hop down the path to meet 
the boys. It was too late to make any investiga- 
tion that night so the party of four devoted their 
energies to producing and demolishing a good meal; 
having done this to their satisfaction they soon 
turned in for the night. 

After a very -early breakfast the following morn- 
ing the police went down to the river with 
the boys and assisted them in bringing up the 
supplies that had been left at the foot of the 
portage. Then the two experts made a care- 
ful examination of the camp, circling back through 
the woods in the hope of finding some possible 
clue to the recent visitor; but the rain had done 
its work only too thoroughly and no trace could 



ii4 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


be found. This was disappointing as it in- 
volved casting in all directions on the mere hope 
of finding some trace of the thief. There was but 
slight chance of his having come by canoe. This 
would have been dangerous and yet there was no 
way of telling whether the finding of the camp 
was purely chance or whether the boys had been 
trailed. In fact there was so little to work on that 
the two men scarcely knew how to begin. After 
considering all the points they decided to separate, 
each one going a different direction, with the un- 
derstanding that they would return within three 
days or as soon as anything of importance was 
discovered. 

During these three days the boys remained 
within calling distance and amused themselves 
with fishing, watching moose and other creatures 
and improving the camp in anticipation of the 
family’s arrival in a few weeks. Big-ears the hare 
was a constant source of interest, his tameness 
being almost ridiculous. Like a pet dog he would 
follow Charlie about whenever he was in or near 
the camp and sit up to beg for food which he could 
have procured easily for himself. The Canada 
jays at first resented the hare’s familiarity, especial- 
ly when it came to his taking some food which 
they wanted; but after a short time they made 
friends or more correctly speaking, ignored each 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 115 


other. One of the jays became devoted to Jack 
and would always sit on his arm during meals, 
and even take the food off the fork or spoon before 
Jack could get it to his mouth. There was great 
fun in having the various birds and animals so 
tame; the assortment included two mice, a red 
squirrel, the hare, four or five jays and a pair of 
chickadees, to say nothing of many other birds 
that became on fairly good terms. 

It was fully anticipated that the two men would 
return during the afternoon of the third day. 
Everything was ready for their arrival including 
some fine trout, but the day passed and evening 
came without any sign of them, and in the end 
Charlie suggested that they should have dinner 
themselves and keep things ready to get a meal 
for the others if they should return later. Finally, 
with the coming of darkness, the boys gave up 
hope and turned in, tired with the suspense of the 
long hours of waiting. 

About noon on the fourth day Cooper arrived 
at the camp with the information that he had 
found nothing of importance. On hearing that 
Gibson had not yet returned he was much surprised 
and somewhat worried, as neither of them had 
carried food for more than four days. Well he 
knew Gibson’s persistent nature, and that if 
Gibson once came on any clue, however slight, he 



n6 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


would follow it until some information was gleaned ; 
so comforting himself with the thought that the 
delay probably meant something in the way of 
news, Cooper settled himself down to the good 
meal that was ready. 

The rest of the day passed with dreary slowness. 
No one could settle down to doing anything and 
beyond cutting some fire-wood and catching a few 
trout no work was done and conversation lagged. 
Cooper was frankly anxious for the safety of his 
companion, as there were so many possibilities 
of trouble which loomed up with annoying clear- 
ness. Dinner was eaten by the last lingering light 
of day. Even the jays had given up hope of join- 
ing in the belated meal and had gone off to their 
respective roosts. Big-ears, not minding the dusk, 
sat by the side of Charlie and nibbled his bit of 
cracker with his usual relish. As the night was 
cold a good fire was made, and the three watchers 
sat by it and waited till the woods were great dark 
masses of mystery. Cooper tried to tell of some of 
his experiences in hunting down those who broke 
the law, but the stories lacked their customary 
interest and life. While telling the stories he 
would frequently stop to listen, and all three, open- 
mouthed, would strain their ears to catch the slight- 
est sound. Once something was heard in the 
woods back of the camp, and all three jumped 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 117 


to their feet, sure that it was Gibson, but it was 
only a moose, and they soon heard the splash as 
the big animal entered the lake. 

“Well, I suppose we might as well hit the blan- 
kets, remarked Cooper; “it’s pretty late and I 
expect we are all tired. Gibson would scarcely 
do much walking through the woods in the dark, 
even though he does know this country like a book.” 

Needless to say, there was no dissenting voice 
to this suggestion, and within a few minutes all 
three were wrapped comfortably in their bedding. 

About midnight a weary figure entered the camp, 
making scarcely any noise, yet the slight sound was 
sufficient to wake the sleepers. Cooper called out : 
“ Hello, Gibson, that you? What news have you 
got?” 

“Well, the most important and pressing news 
is that I am so darned hungry that before further 
conversation I simply must have some grub.” 

Charlie had slipped on his boots, and with 
Cooper’s help quickly provided the necessary food. 
The embers of the dying fire were soon blown into 
a blaze sufficient to heat water for tea. The 
hungry man ate ravenously for some time before 
making any attempt at conversation, while the 
others sat about the fire waiting to hear the result 
of his search. At length, when all the food had 
vanished, he took out his stumpy pipe, carefully 



n8 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


filled it, and taking a piece of birch bark soon had 
a satisfactory light. Then between the puffs 
of smoke he gave the following account: 

“ That’s a lot better! Now, let’s start at the 
beginning. After we separated four days ago I 
hit off in a westerly direction, going over the stream 
by means of that very convenient beaver dam. 
It was pretty rough travelling through swampy 
ground for the first few hours, but after a time 
the going got better. I was then heading about 
northwest. When going through a piece of poplar 
woods which had been cut by beaver I saw the 
darnedest biggest moose that I have ever seen. 
His horns will be a prize for someone this fall. 
However, I wasn’t out moose hunting, it was skunk 
I was after. As I went along I examined the 
country pretty thoroughly but the devil a sign of a 
two-footed man did I see. By evening I was round 
the west side of that highish hill over there,” 
pointing with the stem of his pipe in a north- 
westerly direction; “it was getting late so I decided 
to make my happy home in a sheltered nook, where 
I would light a very small fire without much fear 
of being seen. By the time I had satisfied my 
inner self, it wasn’t far from being dark, but I 
thought I could smoke my old pipe on some nice 
conspicuous rock and have a look at the landscape, 
just for curiosity, you know, so I hiked up the hill 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 119 


and found a nice soft rock — I softened it with a 
tuft of branches — and there I sat like a bloomin' 
statue. Well, I hadn’t been there long when to 
my delight I saw a little bit of blue smoke trying 
to make its way to Heaven. It was a good distance 
off, the smoke as well as Heaven, almost due north. 
Now that bit of smoke looked pretty interesting to 
me, and I wondered who might be sitting at the 
other end of it. Between that smoke and myself 
was about a mile and a half of very rough timber- 
land with hills making it most uneven. To try 
to get through in the dark would be just about 
impossible, and no one could hope to do it at all 
without making a deuced lot of noise, so that if 
the chap who made that smoke was not over 
anxious for visitors he could either leave word 
that he was not at home, or be the only mourner 
at a quiet midnight funeral. I have, strange to 
say, a strong personal dislike to funerals, par- 
ticularly if I have to be the star performer, and I 
wanted to catch that chap — it would look better 
in my report than if he caught me — so I made a 
careful note of where the fire burned and then went 
to my blankets. Before daylight I turned out, 
had a mouthful to eat and started north. It 
seemed like a pretty sure thing and I was betting 
heavily on myself, and giving the other chap small 
odds, as I made my way with as little noise as 



120 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


possible. But the woods were about the thickest 
I have ever seen, and the going got worse and worse. 
It just seemed as though some fellow, not having 
anything better to do had spent a few hundred 
years gathering all the most irregular shaped trees 
he could find and tying the whole darned bunch 
together and dropping them wherever I wanted 
to walk. I was almost sorry that I wasn’t a monkey 
instead of being a clumsy man. It was beyond me 
to keep going straight and even with the utmost 
care the general direction got tied up in a hard knot. 
By the time the sun had risen to a decent height 
I did not know where on earth I was, or rather, I 
did not know where anything else was. There was 
no good in getting rattled, so I tried going backward 
and forward like a dog quartering a field after 
birds. I spent the whole of the blessed day doing 
this, that is, when I wasn’t scraping sweat and 
mosquitoes and black flies off my handsome face. 
It was wonderful good fun, I don’t think, and of 
course it was not at all tiring, certainly not! By 
evening I was about all in, so I made for a high hill 
and fixed up a sort of camp, hoping to see the con- 
founded smoke again but nothing like that hap- 
pened, and I went to sleep jolly well disgusted 
with everything, including myself. The next 
morning I felt a bit better and took another try at 
the job. To make a long story short, about noon 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


121 


I suddenly came across a very small and incon- 
spicuous birch bark shack, and a pretty recent 
fire, but nothing else, except some footprints which 
I examined very carefully. Here is a sort of sketch 
of the prints, ” and he held a piece of paper down by 
the fire so that the rough drawing could be seen 
by its flickering light. Cooper examined it for a 
moment and then drew from his pocket a note 
book; opening this, he turned to a page on which 
was the drawing of two footprints; these he com- 
pared with Gibson’s sketch. 

“M be hanged if these aren’t the same boots!” 
he said turning to Gibson. “So the man that 
killed Henri Le Boeuf’s dog is the man that had 
that camp, and I think we can guess who that man 
is.” 

“Yes, but the question is where is, rather than 
who is, the man?” said Gibson. “For I’ll be shot 
if I know, and how the dickens he knew of my 
being on his trail bothered me badly, I can tell you ; 
but wait till you hear how it happened. After 
looking about the deserted camp I felt that there 
was no doubt of the fellow having left it for good, 
or at least he intended I should think so in case I 
found it. Yet believing there was just a chance 
that he was bluffing me, I determined to hide my- 
self not far away and keep watch for a day or so. 
With this bright idea in my mind I went to look 



122 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



Like tiny animated balls of gray and black fluff the chickadees moved 
among the branches searching for food 


for a good place to wait, and here is where the joke 
is on me. I had not gone more than about seventy 
or eighty yards before I came on my own trail of 
the previous day! Wouldn’t that jar you? To 
think I had blundered almost on top of the skunk’s 
camp and had never known it. How he must have 
laughed! The wonder is that he did not drill a 
hole in my noble head. The only reason that he 
refrained from doing so was his dislike of noises, 
and of course he didn’t know whether I had a pal 
in the neighbourhood. After this disgusting dis- 
covery I gave up the watching idea and decided to 
do a bit of trailing. After a lot of searching I 
eventually found what looked like his tracks. I 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 123 



A typical beaver lodge 


followed these, though it was slow, tiresome work, 
and I need scarcely say I kept a sharp lookout for 
the man himself. Toward evening I came to a 
small stream running northward. The sly dog, 
thinking he might be followed, had crossed the 
stream and walked east. After going a few hundred 
yards the trail was lost in an alder swamp. Now 
I was sure no man could do much travelling through 
such a place so I turned back and made a minute ex- 
amination of the footprints. These revealed noth- 
ing, but near by I found some curious, very indis- 
tinct tracks. The rascal had fastened a piece of 
bark to each boot and had returned to the stream. 
There all signs ended. I walked along the bank 



124 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


and about five hundred yards down came upon 
evidence of some one having been there, as the 
grass was slightly disturbed. The mark of the bow 
and stern of a canoe could be seen clearly, where 
it had been turned upside down under some 
bushes. All chance of catching my friend was at 
an end now, as he had undoubtedly escaped in the 
canoe. My own idea is that our only way is to 
carry our canoe over to the stream and follow 
it down and see if there is any sign of his landing. 
I tried going along that stream but the walking was 
frightful and in the end I gave it up, and made my 
camp on a knoll some way back from the water. 
This morning, or I suppose I should say yesterday 
morning, I started back to find this camp and fool- 
ishly tried a short cut that I had made once during 
the winter. Then all was frozen and solid, and I 
never realized what a beastly swampy piece of 
ground it was. I simply could not get through and 
eventually had to swing back in a northeasterly 
direction till I struck good going. I got across the 
stream connecting with this lake by going over a 
beaver dam at the foot of a larger pond in which 
there is an island and a beaver lodge.’ ’ 

“ We call that Number Three Lake, but you must 
have found it pretty swampy,” Jack remarked. 

“Well, yes, it was, but I got through after some 
little trouble and made straight for the high ridge 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 125 


where the walking was good. You see it was get- 
ting along toward sundown before I reached the 
hard wood ridge and I had had no food since my 
very slim breakfast, so I meant to reach this camp 
or bust, and here I am. If you have no serious 
objections I should like a few minutes’ sleep, as I 
suppose we shall be off early, won’t we, Cooper?” 

“Yes, I expect we had better not lose too much 
time, and almost think our best way would be to 
make for the main river and go along to where the 
Little Musquash stream comes in. I believe the 
stream down which you found the canoe had gone 
is the one that leads into those two or three ponds 
from which the Little Musquash comes. We shall 
save time, I expect, if we do this.” 

“Right you are. Kick me up when you think 
of moving for I shall be a bit sleepy if I am not 
mistaken. Good-night all! I have made a bad 
hash of things but even that won’t prevent my 
sleeping.” 

Cooper had mercy on the tired man and did not 
disturb him until after six o’clock, by which time 
he had, with Charlie’s help, got breakfast ready. 
Gibson rubbed his eyes when he was well shaken 
and crawled out of his blankets, with the air of a 
man who would be quite willing to sleep on for 
many hours. A wash and a shave does wonders 
and he was soon as brisk as any of the party. 



126 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


Cooper didn’t waste much time in gossip. He 
wanted to be on the hunt for the thief and as soon 
as the meal was finished the two started off down 
MacPherson’s trail, with the boys accompanying 
them as far as the river. Cooper promised to let 
them know the result of their efforts if he came 
back the same way. If there was anything new 
to report, Charlie promised to leave a note under 
the roots of a certain birch tree near the trail so 
that Cooper could call for it on his way down. 

As the little gray canoe turned round a bend in 
the river and was lost to view Charlie and Jack 
turned back to Four Island Camp, both sincerely 
sorry to have lost the two men who had been such 
interesting companions. 



CHAPTER VIII 

See some beaver , a deer and her two fawns; find a wonder- 
ful beaver canal; a beaver family play games; the history 
of a beaver colony and what it means. 

TT WAS still quite early when the boys got to 
-*• camp and, as the day was wonderfully fine, 
Jack suggested a little trip to the west in search 
of beaver work. Taking the canoe they crossed 
Four Island Lake and made their way quietly 
up a small sluggish stream. They followed this 
some few hundred yards when Charlie, who was 
standing up and poling the canoe, sighted a pond 
ahead and in the middle of the pond was a conspicu- 
ous beaver lodge. On the chance of finding the 
animals out enjoying the early sun he suggested 
that they go ashore and crawl up to the pond. 
With the utmost caution they made their way 
through the sparse undergrowth until the bank 
was reached. A family of mergansers was seen, 
swimming along in single file, the mother bird 
leading, while her young brood followed. As 
they neared the shore something was observed 


127 



128 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


on a grassy point not more than fifty yards away. 
At first Charlie thought it was only a stump and 
Jack was about to examine it with the glasses when 
the object moved. The mother merganser had 
caught sight of the boys and had uttered a warning 
call. This apparently had awakened the large 
beaver — such the object proved to be — who now sat 
up and sniffed the air as though wondering why the 
warning call had been given, and not at all pleased 
at having been disturbed. Seeing no cause for 
alarm the drowsy creature settled itself down again 
to sleep in the warm sunlight. As there was no 
other sign of life nearby, the boys stood up; where- 
upon the mother merganser again gave the call 
and scurried across the pond as fast as she could go, 
with her brood following. This disturbed the 
beaver once more and, without waiting to see what 
the cause of the alarm might be, he slipped into 
the water and vanished from sight. 

“ Let’s have a look at this dam,” Charlie said, 
“and then we can take the canoe across and visit 
the lodge.” 

The dam which formed the pond was about fifty 
feet across but low, and made chiefly of sod with 
very little woodwork. The lodge proved to be a 
fine piece of work; fully twenty-five feet in diameter 
and over five feet high, built on a small island, it 
was evidently the home of a large family of beaver. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


129 


Jack tried the old trick of giving the water a smart 
smack with the broad side of a paddle and then 
making some commotion in the water. In a few 
seconds, bubbles were seen rising to the surface 
and very soon a beaver’s head appeared not more 
than fifteen yards away. Only for a second or two 
did the animal remain in sight as the wind carried 
to it the scent of the human beings. In its hurry 
to dive the beaver made only a feeble attempt at 
giving the warning slap with its tail. 

“Good-bye, old boy, you got some surprise, 
didn’t you?” Jack called out as the frightened ani- 
mal disappeared. 

“Next time he will take the merganser’s tip, I’m 
thinking,” Charlie remarked, laughing. “What 
do you say to going ashore and striking across coun- 
try toward that hill?” 

“All right!” Jack replied. “That’s the hill, I 
think, from where Gibson got his view of the smoke.” 

“Yes, I expect it is, but we had better keep well 
to the right so as to avoid the thick timber. If I 
remember correctly, he said there was a poplar 
grove near there where the beaver had been doing 
some tree cutting. That ought to be interesting. 
We’ll take our lunch with us so that we need not 
hurry back.” 

On leaving the pond the country was found to be 
fairly good for walking, and not too wet. For the 




i 3 o TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


A family of mergansers awakened the drowsy beaver 


greater part it was open bog, covered with low scrub 
and grass, with islands of spruce and tamarack 
trees dotted about. Farther along the ground 
rose slightly and was drier and more meadow-like, 
with maples and poplars scattered among the other 
trees. Here and there was a small quiet pond by 
way of variety. Something was seen to move 
in one of the open spaces and the two boys, taking 
cover behind a large maple, crept through the grass 
until they were within a short distance of the tree. 
Framed by the overhanging branches was a won- 
derful picture. In an open beaver meadow stood a 
beautiful doe with her two spotted fawns. For a 
long time Charlie and Jack gazed speechless. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND i 3I 



In an open beaver meadow stood a beautiful doe with her two 
spotted fawns 


Fortunately the wind was favourable so the grace- 
ful creatures were in complete ignorance of the close 
proximity of the observers. And yet how con- 
stantly alert was the mother deer ! A few mouthfuls 
of grass and up would go her head as she gazed 
first one way and then another for any possible 
enemy. Not alone to her eye-sight did she trust; 
her tongue frequently moistened the sensitive nose 
which quivered each time the head was raised with 
curious short jerks; the large ears turned from side 
to side listening intently for the slightest unusual 
sound. The two fawns imitated their mother in 
the quaintest way imaginable. One moment alert 
and serious, the next they were playing like chil- 



i 3 2 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


dren, chasing each other as two boys might do, 
having a regular romp, filled with the very joy 
of life. It was a pity to disturb the happy fam- 
ily, so when they had enjoyed the sight for nearly 
half an hour the boys crept away leaving the 
animals happy and undisturbed in their meadow 
home. 

After going back a few hundred yards they swung 
round to the east and then north and later came to a 
large poplar grove. Evidence of beaver work was 
to be seen everywhere but as there was nothing in 
the way of a pond or stream nearby it was puzzling 
to know where the cut wood had been taken. By 
following a fairly well defined beaver road the mys- 
tery was solved. The road led to a marvelous 
canal. Neither Jack nor Charlie had ever seen 
one before. They had read about them in books, 
but reading about a thing is so very different from 
actually seeing it, and their belief in these canals 
had been weak to say the least of it. Here, however, 
was the real thing, and an unusually good example 
of what may be considered the highest example 
of beaver intelligence. This canal was about 
four feet wide and perhaps two feet deep. The 
earth which had been excavated was piled up on 
either side in a fairly orderly way. At the end of 
about fifty yards there was a dam; the next stretch 
was slightly below the level of the first, much 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 133 


longer, being roughly about one hundred and 
twenty-five yards; this in turn ended at a dam; the 
third stretch of canal was nearly a foot below the 
second. This last stretch led through level and 
somewhat swampy ground to a large pond on either 
side of which was a lodge. 

Not far from the canal entrance the grass was 
packed down as though it had been walked upon 
and on the bank were four beaver busily engaged 
on their morning toilet. By good luck a clump 
of alders hid the observers from view and as the 
wind blew from the beaver, there was not much risk 
of detection. The animals were more than half 
grown and of soft brown colour, with a touch of 
grayness to the heads and shoulders. Except for 
their broad flat tails they might have been mistaken 
for woodchuck or much over-grown muskrats. 
In combing their thick coats the favourite attitude 
was to sit on their tails which in this position faced 
forward, and comb with their hind feet. Nature 
has arranged a curious device to assist them in 
their combing operations, neither more nor less than 
a split nail on the second toe of the hind foot. 
Charlie remembered having read of this and called 
Jack’s attention to it. The front feet or hands 
were also employed to some extent. All their 
work seemed rather purposeless, for no sooner did 
one get his fur perfectly fry and fluffy than he went 



i 3 4 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



On the hank were four beaver 


into the water for a short swim. Sometimes two 
or three would go in together and play games. 

Nearly all wild animals especially the young, 
resemble children in their love for “ hide-and-seek 
‘ 1 catch-as-catch-can’ 9 ; “ King-of-the-castle ’ 9 , and 
wrestling. This family of beaver indulged in each 
of these games in succession, much to the amuse- 
ment of the boys who for fully two hours remained 
watching. The afternoon was well along before 
the beaver left the bank and retired to the water 
and presumably went in the house to finish their 
sleep. Then the boys took another look at the 
canal and their amazement increased as they real- 
ized the magnitude of the work. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 135 



This canal was constructed by the beaver in order to enable them to 
reach the necessary supply of trees and transport the branches by water 
to their winter storehouse. 


The object of the canal is to enable the beaver 
to reach the source of their food supply of wood. 
Long walks on land are dangerous to animals of 
their build; they cannot run fast enough to escape 
any of their enemies and have no method of self- 
defence. Water is their only safety. Therefore, 
when the trees in the immediate vicinity of the 
pond are all used, the animals have to go either 
farther afield for their wood or else move to another 
neighbourhood. Occasionally an energetic colony 
decides to undertake the construction of a canal, 
or even a system of canals, leading to the woods. 
In this way they are able to reach the field of oper- 



136 two boys in beaver-land 



The heaver , with studies of various positions 


ations and transport the logs and branches by 
water with scarcely any danger from their natural 
enemies, the wolves, foxes, wolverines, and martin. 
As the flesh of the beaver is tender and toothsome, 
the wretched animals are much sought after. 
Hence it is that they resort to such elaborate means 
of protection. 

The reader may wonder how trees form the food 
for beaver, so it might be well to explain at this 
point that it is only the bark, or rather the cam- 
bium layer, and not the wood which is eaten. 
Besides the bark of such trees as poplar, birch, ash, 
maple and alder (the pines and spruces and other 
conifers are not in demand except during the early 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 137 



A — Beaver's skull , to show teeth. The dotted line indicates the length 
of the lower cutting teeth. B — Front foot of heaver. C — Hind foot , show- 
ing the webbing. D — The split nail of second toe on hind foot , used for 
combing the hair. E — The beaver's tail. 


spring when the prospective mother occasionally 
eats spruce or hemlock bark) the roots of certain 
shrubs are eaten, also the roots of the aquatic 
plants, particularly those of the water lily and 
spatterdock (sometimes called the yellow water 
lily). 

In order to obtain the branches it is of course 
necessary to cut down the trees as the beaver 
cannot climb. With their extraordinary long, sharp, 
chisel-like teeth they can cut down a tree of, say, 
nine inches in diameter in three or four hours. 
This gives only an approximate idea of the time 



138 two boys in beaver-land 


taken, because it is very seldom that any beaver 
works continuously at the task. Usually only a 
little is done at a time, except in cases of urgent 
need. The size of the trees that are cut is truly 
astonishing. The largest tree of which I can find 
any record was about one hundred and twenty- 
five inches in circumference and was probably a 
cotton tree, which is a very soft wood; it is not at 
all uncommon to find stumps with a circumference 
of sixty or seventy inches. The usual size, however, 
is scarcely half as much. When the tree is felled, 
the branches are all cut off and then cut to sizes 
convenient for handling. When this has been done 
the thinner part of the trunk is cut into sections 
varying in length according to the diameter. For 
example, a log of five inches in diameter might be as 
much as eight or ten feet long and yet be easily 
dragged to the water, but one of twice that size 
would be too heavy to handle and so would be cut 
to less than half the length of the smaller one. 

All the wood is taken by water transport, when 
possible, and piled up in the water outside the lodge. 
How the branches and logs are fastened to the 
bottom of lake or river no one knows for certain, 
but they are secured in some mysterious way, and 
the pile, with its top showing at the surface is some- 
times as much as forty feet across. This wood is 
used as a winter supply. During the winter in 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 139 


most parts of the animals’ habitat, the lakes and 
even rivers are coated with ice which may be as 
much as three feet or even more in thickness. 
The beaver is thus imprisoned as long as the ice 
lasts which is usually about four months. The 
lodge or house has its only entrances well under 
water, so that once the ice is formed, the beaver on 
coming out of his house can only move about under 
water. When food is needed he comes out, cuts 
off a likely branch and takes it into the lodge. 
There he eats off the bark in comfort and, as space 
is strictly limited, the peeled stick is immediately 
taken out and left to float under the ice. Later it 
is used for building material in the construction 
of the lodges or dams. Many animals store food 
for winter use and some show remarkable ingenuity 
in their methods, but I doubt if any creature except 
man works out the problem with greater thorough- 
ness and cleverness than our friend the beaver. 
He seems to think of everything and plan his 
work far ahead, and very seldom does he make 
any very bad mistakes. Of course such mar- 
vellous work has caught the imagination of many 
writers, and some remarkable fiction has re- 
sulted. If they were not pathetic such stories 
would be funny, but it is a pity that the almost 
human work accomplished by the beaver should be 
made ridiculous. The absurd part is that there 



i 4 o TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



When a tree is cut down the branches are first taken and then the trunk if 
not too large is cut into sections of size suitable for carrying 


is absolutely no reason to resort to fiction. The 
truth is usually far more wonderful and logical 
than the silly stories which have been offered to 
the public from time to time, stories usually written 
by those who have not sufficient interest in their 
subject to go out into the wilds where they may 
study the animal by personal observation. Of 
course it is far cheaper to sit at home in a comforta- 
ble chair and read what some other man has written 
and then add touches here and there, till what 
originally might have been true, becomes a series 
of distorted stories. Travelling off into the 
wilds frequently means considerable expense and 
nearly always a certain amount of hardship. But 

- 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 141 



One beaver bringing branch to the winter woodpile while another is div- 
ing down with his contribution 


one fact learned directly from nature is worth 
hundreds of hearsay facts. 

In case the reader wishes to know why the beaver 
have the entrances to their houses under water and 
why they make dams, the diagram shown will per- 
haps explain to some extent the reasons. But the 
following points may be noted: First, the entrance 
being under water renders the inside of the house 
safe from unwelcome visitors. Secondly, it allows 
the animals to come out in safety during the winter 
to visit their wood pile. Thirdly, the water must 
be maintained at a constant level; otherwise during 
the dry season the entrance might be exposed, while 
in very wet weather floods would render the lodge 



i 4 2 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



Section of beaver lodge in winter when the animals are imprisoned by the 
ice. Their food is obtained from the woodpile stored du ring the autumn 

uninhabitable. The only way to accomplish this 
is by means of a dam. This conserves the water 
in dry weather and as it has usually a wide enough 
lip to let all surplus water escape, the variation 
in the level of the water varies but a few inches 
throughout the year. 

The size of the dams varies from tiny ones not 
more than a few inches long with a pound or so of 
material used, up to huge structures two thousand 
feet or more in length and up to about fourteen feet 
in height containing hundreds of tons of material. 
Needless to say these large dams are not deliber- 
ately planned to be of such size. Nor is the build- 
ing all done at one time. It is a very gradual piece 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 143 



A typical example of a beaver pond with one large or main dam and two 
secondary or subsidiary dams to be used in case of emergency 


of work, commencing with perhaps a comparatively 
insignificant dam of a few feet in length and being 
added to year by year. As the colony grows and 
needs more food, a greater area of water is required 
in order to allow the beaver to reach the timber. 
This means increasing the length and height of the 
dam. As time goes on the supply of accessible 
food trees becomes exhausted so the beaver leave 
the large pond they have made and used for a 
number of years, and seek a new part of the country 
in which to establish themselves. Whether the 
whole colony, which may number thirty or forty 
animals, moves as a colony is very doubtful. 
Cases of where they have done so are on record, 



144 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


but I think it is more usual for the different 
families to seek out each their own new home. 
After a lapse of ten or twelve or more years a new 
growth of poplars and other soft wood trees has had 
time to appear, bringing a fresh supply of beaver 
food. But the dam not having been kept in repair 
during these years, has broken down and become 
overgrown with shrubs. In some cases all outward 
semblance of the original structure will be lost 
after ten years of neglect. Some wandering pair 
of beaver out in search of a suitable place to start 
a home will come across this abandoned pond and 
settle down in the very place that their great-great- 
grandfather may have lived, and they will recon- 
struct the dam and add to it year by year as their 
family increases until once again a great pond re- 
flects the beauty of the surrounding hills on its 
smooth surface and the sound of cutting wood and 
falling trees is heard during the cool autumn nights. 

So it is that the same pond may come into use 
again and again for centuries. When a long used 
pond is finally abandoned an interesting trans- 
formation of the land is observed, but let us first 
look at the conditions obtaining at the time the 
beaver began to change the landscape to suit their 
needs. A stream, small or large as the case may 
be, runs through a wooded valley. The stream is 
not conspicious as its banks are overgrown by 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 145 


trees and bushes. There is probably little or no 
open country on either side. The exploring beaver 
have examined the situation and found it favourable. 
There is sufficient water and an ample supply of 
food trees. They build a dam in what they con- 
sider the most suitable position and flood an acre 
or two of the woodland. The most convenient 
soft wood trees are cut down and used for food. 
The firs, spruces, pines, hemlocks and tamarack 
are left standing, and soon die as the water rises 
and suffocates them. Their whitened skeletons 
stand for a few years and then decay and fall into 
the water. In the natural course of events the 
beaver increase in numbers, and more wood is 
required for food; so the dam is lengthened and 
made higher in proportion, and the pond broadens 
out so that it reaches the uncut trees. As it be- 
comes larger the pressure on the dam is of course 
greater. Should it break under this increasing 
weight of water, the pond would rush away leaving 
the animals and their lodges at the mercy of any 
passing enemy. To safeguard themselves against 
such a catastrophe a subsidiary or supporting dam 
is built a short distance below the main structure, 
and to make still more certain another or even 
several more may be added. Should the main 
dam break any one of these lesser structures would 
offer a place of shelter in their small ponds. Another 



146 two boys in beaver-land 



The beginning and end of a beaver colony , and how it ajfects us. First 
stage: bejore the beaver come . . . 


way in which these subsidiaries are useful is that 
they are a protection against the action of frost 
at the base of the dam. By raising the water 
several feet the frost is unable to reach the base. 
Our growing colony does whatever work is necessary 
and thrives accordingly. The pond grows until it 
reaches the proportions of a lake. Hundreds of 
acres of former forest land are covered and gradually 
the dead conifers vanish under the natural process 
of decay. All of this takes many many years, 
and all this time the rains and melting snows have 
been busy washing down from the surrounding 
hillside the millions of gaily coloured leaves that 
have fallen every autumn, not only the leaves but 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 147 



The beginning and end of a beaver colony , and how it affects us. Second 
stage: the stream has been dammed by the beaver; . . . 


all other dead vegetation. The stream, too, brings 
down its contribution without ceasing day and night, 
year after year, and all of this settles in the lake 
and forms a more or less level layer of rich humus. 

The day comes at last when the lake is aban- 
doned, probably because the food supply has failed; 
this may be due to the natural results of too many 
beaver and consequent destruction of the trees 
or perhaps a fire has devastated the region. Or 
again, man, the destroyer, may have done his 
deadly work and trapped the entire colony. What- 
ever the cause the place is left to remake itself. 
Nature is never idle. Now she soon starts on the 
dam, there being no industrious little engineers to 


148 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



The beginning and end of a beaver colony and how it affects us. Third 
stage: the beaver have left their pond . . . 

keep it in repair; she plants trees and shrubs 
along the neat bank and their roots soon open up 
the packed earthwork and the water, eager to 
escape, creeps through the tiny openings and en- 
larges them more and more. The lake gets lower 
and lower as the dam crumbles away; soon a large 
flat treeless swamp takes the place of the great 
expanse of shimmering water. Slowly this dries 
up as the water once again make its way along 
the long disused bed of the stream. Under the 
action of the summer sun and the autumn winds 
the drying process continues while the winter 
frosts plough the land in nature’s own way. Grad- 
ually the heavy, rich vegetable mould is made 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 149 



The beginning and end of a beaver colony , and how it affects us. Fourth 
stage: the settler finds the meadow and turns it into a farm 


ready for its crop of grass, the natural pasture 
land of the deer. 

Thus we see the transformation from woodland 
to lake, from lake to swamp, from swamp to 
meadow and finally man comes along in search 
of a suitable homestead. He finds this wonderful 
meadow, ready made, watered by a clear stream 
and surrounded by wooded hills and he settles 
there. His children play hide-and-seek on the 
ground where the little beaver used to play the 
same game in the water perhaps a hundred years 
before, and the settler does not know that he owes 
his finest land to the efforts of the apparently 
insignificant beaver. 




CHAPTER IX 


The camp pets and their peculiarities; how the winter 
affects some birds and animals; another trip to the canal; 
the early bird; sketching the moose; a trip down the river 
for bass; meet an Indian and buy a birch bark canoe. 

/^HARLIE and Jack returned to Four Island 
Camp thoroughly satisfied with the day’s 
experiences. It had been one of those days when 
everything had gone particularly well. They had 
seen an example of the most interesting work 
done by the beaver and they determined to pay 
many visits to the canal later on when the autumn 
work began. During the summer months the 
beaver spend a lazy time. Little or np construction 
work is undertaken, until the days begin to shorten 
and the forests change their clothing from the 
many shades of green to the gorgeous colouring 
which is the last joyous note before the long dreary 
winter settles on the northern country. 

Big-ears greeted the boys on their arrival as 
though glad to have his human companions with 
him again. He hopped about their feet in his 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 151 


quaint way, often stopping and sitting up to beg 
for bits of food. The jays too, added their note of 
welcome. All of which gave the camp a delight- 
ful home-like feeling. It is curious what a pleas- 
ure we derive from an animal or bird showing con- 
fidence in us. We seem to take it as a personal 
compliment and it flatters our vanity. I have often 
thought that one of the proudest moments of my 
life was when, for the first time, I induced a little 
warbler to come and sit on my hand. It gave a 
thrill of pleasure difficult to describe, and still more 
difficult to analyze. Jack said he always felt an 
extraordinary pleasure each time his particular 
pet jay came to him, and yet these Canada jays 
are the most easily tamed and confiding of all 
wild creatures. This jay they named Fluff, and it 
suited him thoroughly, as he was a ball of soft gray 
and white fluff, from which his dark eyes gleamed 
like shining black beads. He had a fascinating way 
of cocking his head to one side whenever he wanted 
anything, looking into Jack’s face with a quizzical 
expression which seemed to say “ won’t you give it to 
me — please.” Of course Jack could not refuse. 
Several other jays were exceedingly tame, but none 
of them had the delightful confiding way that Fluff 
possessed. The little rascal soon felt himself to 
be a privileged character and frequently objected 
to others of his kind becoming too familiar. He 


152 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



Fluff, the Canada jay , would sit on Jack’s hand and share the food in a 
most familiar way 


scolded vigorously if another jay sat on Jack’s 
shoulder but strange to say did not object to any 
of them making friends with Charlie. Nearly all 
animals and birds that become at all tame are apt 
to take a strong fancy for a particular person and 
become frantically jealous of their affection. 
Their pronounced dislikes are equally noticeable. 
Sometimes Jack, with a boy’s love of teasing, would 
pretend to take special notice of Greedy, as one of 
the jays was called, on account of its insatiable 
appetite. If he continued this for more than a few 
seconds, Fluff would go for his rival with a good 
round of abuse and, if this produced no effect, would 
fly up to a particular broken branch and sit there 




TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 153 


The crafty lynx hid behind a tree and waited for the hare to resume his 
evening meal 


looking utterly disgusted with life and repeating 
a soft plaintive note at regular intervals. This 
always had the desired effect. Jack would put up 
his head and call Fluff by name. Like a great gray 
moth the bird would drift rather than fly down 
from the branch and crooning a soft murmur song 
alight on Jack’s outstretched hand. 

It is scarcely to be wondered at that Fluff became 
a much spoiled pet. That he would have to be left 
behind when they returned to the land of bricks and 
mortar was a sad thought, yet he could not be taken 
with them owing to the restriction imposed by law 
on caged birds in the United States. There was at 
least the satisfaction that the bird was not in great 



i 5 4 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


danger of being killed. Natural enemies were not 
very numerous, and the food question during the 
trying winter months was usually solved by the 
jays, thanks to their forethought in storing food in 
all sorts of queer places among the trees. As soon 
as the cold weather threatens, the days are spent 
by the birds industriously laying up their supplies. 
How they ever find what they have hidden is a 
mystery, because very small amounts are put in a 
single place, so there must be hundreds, if not 
thousands, of these caches. The rough shaggy 
bark of the birch trees is one of the most popular 
hiding places, but holes in trees are not used so 
much, probably on account of the red squirrels. 
The jay’s chance of surviving the winter was far 
better than poor Big-ears. The hare is a tempting 
morsel for many of the flesh-eating animals. When 
the deadly cold sets in and the woods are covered 
with their burden of snow the hare has to work 
hard for his food. Every hour that he is out feed- 
ing, in spite of constant vigilance, there is danger 
lurking near. Among his enemies the chief ones 
are the wolf, fox, mink, martin, wolverine and lynx. 
Of these the lynx is perhaps the most dangerous. 
It requires little imagination to picture the night 
scenes that are enacted with such unhappy fre- 
quency. The lynx wants food, and he starts out 
when the woods are wrapped in deceptive darkness. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 155 


Silently as death his big padded feet carry him 
along. His ghostly gray figure merges into the in- 
distinct background. He hunts by sound and 
sight, as all the cats do, rather than by the sense of 
smell which enables the wolves and others of their 
relations to trail their prey so unerringly. Once the 
lynx sights poor bunny he is in no hurry. With 
crafty patience he watches his victim until a 
suitable opportunity occurs to make a short sharp 
spring. Seldom indeed does the spring fail, and 
one more animal has given his life to another ac- 
cording to the relentless law decreed by the strange 
guiding hand of nature. Apparently every living 
thing is put on this earth especially for some other 
living thing. The beginning and end of this chain is 
difficult to find. The hare may seem to us just as 
important as the lynx, yet it is the duty of the hare 
to furnish food for the lynx. Complacently the 
lynx, having dined well, retires to a comfortable 
branch while the moon looks on without comment. 

Charlie would often take Big-ears on his lap and 
tell him of the dangers of woods and warn him 
particularly against those enemies that would be 
on watch for him at all times. The little animal 
took all the advice very quietly and appreciated it 
all the more if a cracker or piece of bread were added 
by way of seasoning. Nature had provided him 
with a sense called instinct, which is very well 



156 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



The lynx , having dined well, retires to a comfortable branch for a rest 


developed in the direction of self-preservation. 
The degree of this instinct is curiously well balanced 
according to nature’s plan so that the hunted 
must be a shade less clever than the hunter. Other- 
wise the hunter would go hungry and soon die out, 
and the whole scheme of life would have to be 
changed. But Charlie hoped his little friend 
would not fall a victim to any of the hungry prow- 
lers. 

“What do you say to taking another trip toward 
the beaver canal to-morrow, if the weather is fine? ” 
said Charlie one evening while they were enjoying 
some particularly good trout fishing in their lake. 

“I’m game for it, but let us make a very early 




TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 157 


The early fisherman searching for frogs or small fish which are the chief' 
food of the heron 


start. We shall be more likely to meet some of the 
moose and deer and it’s jolly being out before the 
morning mists have cleared.” 

This met with Charlie’s approval. The fol- 
lowing morning, while the sun was trying to send its 
rays through the filmy vapour, the two boys left 
camp and paddled across the lake to one of the 
small ponds. In the shallow water near the shore 
a heron was seen walking along with head held low 
searching for his breakfast. This early fisherman 
was so intent on his work that he had not noticed 
the canoe coming through the tall grass. In a 
strange, jerky way he made his way among the 
floating lily leaves, stopping now and then to 



158 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


seize some luckless frog or small fish in his long, 
powerful beak. Each time a wriggling morsel was 
caught, the bird held his head high, and down the 
long stretched neck the dainty tit-bit would 
vanish; then after a moment’s hesitation to make 
sure it had gone all the way down the hunt would 
proceed. While the boys were watching, the 
heron caught a particularly large bull-frog. The 
frog thoroughly objected and struggled vigorously. 
This was too much for Charlie. He jumped up and 
slapped the water with a paddle. The surprised 
heron instantly dropped his prize and after a mo- 
ment’s look at the cause of the disturbance gave 
a squawk and spreading his huge gray wings flew 
away with an air of utter disgust. 

“ Rough on the old bird, I suppose,” Jack re- 
marked. 

“Yes, but good luck for the poor old frog, Jack.” 

Jack laughed as he replied: “I suppose that heron 
considers himself the early bird and so deserves the 
worm.” 

“That’s all right, but what about the worm, or, 
the frog as it was in this case? He was up still 
earlier, and he got caught. I object to that 
proverb or whatever you call it, as it gets things 
twisted. It praises the early bird for being up 
early while the poor unfortunate worm gets left for 
having left his earthy bed at a still more ridicul- 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 159 


ously early hour. I was told once of a fellow who 
was very lazy, and hated to get up. He had a 
brother who was the shining example of the family 
and was up always at some unseemly hour. One 
day this early Johnny went out for a walk before 
any one was up. On his way he picked up a purse 
or some bank notes and came home very pleased 
with himself. His fond Mamma thought it a good 
opportunity to go for her lazy son. She routed 
him out and showed him the money saying: 4 See 
what the early bird gets!’ 

“Master Lazy Bones rubbed his eyes and re- 
marked : ‘ Seems to me that if the other fellow had 
not been up so blamed early he would not have 
lost the money ’ and with that wise reply he 
turned over and went to sleep, satisfied that there 
was not much in the early bird idea.” 

“Charlie, your story is highly immoral, and you 
are altogether too literal. Let’s cross the pond 
which you have disturbed so completely and go 
in the direction of the canal.” 

Instead of going as they had done on their pre- 
vious visit, they kept more to the right with the 
intention of examining some ponds which would be 
likely places for moose. In the first of these some 
ducks were found, while the second one showed 
no signs of life except a couple of muskrats. But 
as they approached the third and largest, they 



160 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


saw a moose’s back showing above the low grass 
which bordered the water. As the wind was 
not entirely favourable it was decided to go back a 
little and approach directly against what little 
breeze there was. There was plenty of cover; 
the stalking was simple enough; and very soon they 
were within fifty or sixty yards of the pond. The 
cow moose was complacently munching spatter- 
dock leaves* and stalks while on the grassy shore 
lay her calf, a quaint little creature with a dis- 
tinctly reddish coat. 

“Let us wait here till the youngster stands up so 
that we can be sure whether or not he has spots,” 
Jack whispered as they squatted behind a small 
clump of willows. 

“No doubt about the red colour, is there? But 
I don’t see any spots. I expect that account in the 
book must have been wrong. I say what a pic- 
ture they make! I’m going to make a sketch of it 
all,” and Charlie who had brought his sketch book 
with him, took it out and began to work indus- 
triously. All the time the ungainly old animal 
kept on feeding. Sometimes she strayed out into 
the middle of the pond where the water was so 
deep that only her head and the top of her shoul- 
ders were visible. Occasionally some tempting 

*The moose does not eat the roots of the spatterdock as is 
commonly supposed. — Author. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 161 


morsel induced her to go completely out of her 
depth and she would stay submerged for minutes 
at a time. After an hour or two had passed the 
calf began to feel hungry and lonely. He stood 
up and called for his mother, but at first she paid 
no attention to her offspring, until at last the little 
fellow went into the water. This aroused the par- 
ent and she came ashore slowly, stopping now and 
then to get a mouthful of leaves. As soon as the 
calf had satisfied its hunger the pair left the lake 
and came directly toward the two boys, who re- 
mained motionless to see what would happen. 
Nearer and nearer they came and not until they 
were within seven or eight yards did they discover 
the presence of the two crouching figures. Owing 
to the direction of the wind they were unable to 
detect the human scent and stood staring in a 
stupid way until Charlie burst out laughing. This 
was too much for Mrs. Moose, who turned and 
bolted at full speed, her long swinging stride taking 
her across the bog with extraordinary rapidity, 
while the red calf followed close behind. 

“Well, there’s one thing certain! There are no 
spots on that calf,” said Charlie. 

“That proves the book was wrong as we expected. 
What shall we do now?” 

“I’ll stay on here a bit and finish this sketch, 
and then it will be about lunch time. After that 



1 62 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


we’ll see how we feel. Personally I don’t abound 
in energy. The air feels as though we are in for a 
thunder storm.” 

“Just what I think. Those clouds over there 
look a bit suspicious,” Jack replied. 

For nearly an hour Charlie worked at his sketch 
then they had lunch. By that time the clouds had 
rolled up promising a storm within a short time 
and the boys thought it better to start back for 
camp. Before they had gone more than half way 
to where the canoe had been left, the first drops of 
rain fell, and the thunder could be heard rumbling 
in the distance. To avoid getting soaked the two 
ran as fast as they could over the irregular ground 
and reached the canoe just as the storm broke with 
full fury. There was nothing for it but to make the 
best of things, so the canoe was turned upside 
down to give as much shelter as possible. This 
was only a makeshift, but they managed to keep 
their bodies more or less dry though their legs were 
soaked. After the actual thunder storm had 
passed the rain continued for several hours much 
to the boys’ disgust, and it was nearly sunset by the 
time they could return to camp. 

A few days later, after caching the food supply, 
in case of another visit from the thief, a trip down 
to the river was undertaken, with the hope that 
there would be a message from Gibson and Cooper, 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 163 


but nothing was found in the “letter box.” Charlie 
wrote a message saying that they were going up the 
river for a day or two and left this with letters for 
home in case Cooper should pass that way. Then 
they started up the river. Nothing very exciting 
occurred for the first few hours. Presently they 
came to where the river broadened out into a lake 
of fair size; on the west side the water was covered 
with lily pads and looked like a good place for bass. 
As it was too late in the year to use flies with much 
chance of success, medium sized spoons with red 
and white feathers were used, and most satis- 
factory they proved. Few fish give better sport 
than black bass, especially with a light fly rod. 

Charlie and Jack took turns at the fishing and 
had wonderful fun for two or three hours. The 
fish took the spoons readily and fought vigorously. 
All that were lightly hooked were released (a small 
single hook was used with each spoon, in place of 
the regular gang of three which gives the fish no 
chance at all) and yet enough were caught to fur- 
nish plenty of food for two days. The bass made a 
very welcome change from trout which had been 
their principal food for some time. 

Camp was made in a sheltered cove at the north 
end of the lake. It was appropriately christened 
“Bull Moose Camp” because an enormous moose 
was found in the cove, and it carried the finest 



1 64 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



The mother moose Jed contentedly in the pond while her red calf rested 
nearby 


horns that either of the boys had yet seen except in 
collections. These horns were almost fully grown, 
even the points reaching full length. As it was yet 
early in August the velvet still covered the great 
growth of horn and added to their apparent size. 

While eating breakfast the following morning, the 
boys were surprised to see the indistinct form of 
something moving on the water; gradually it be- 
came clearer, as from out of the gray mist came an 
Indian, silently paddling his bark canoe. He 
landed near the camp and came ashore with a 
quiet greeting in excellent English. Evidently 
he was a rather superior Indian and Jack asked 
him to join them and have some breakfast. He 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 165 



proved to be a most interesting man, had been 
through college, and was now returning from a trip 
up country among some of the more primitive 
of his race from whom he wished to collect data on 
folk lore. 

Jack had noticed the unusually fine bark canoe 
and wondered whether it could be bought. He 
broached the subject as tactfully as possible, and 
was delighted when the Indian readily agreed to 
sell it for a reasonable sum if he could be taken down 
to the steamer landing. This was easily arranged 
by accompanying him down the river. Their own 
canoe they could leave with the people at the land- 
ing place, until the Sylvesters arrived and it would 




166 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


be all ready for them to use. As this arrangement 
was satisfactory to all concerned, they lost no time 
in striking camp and starting down the river. In 
passing the entrance to MacPherson’s trail, a new 
note was substituted for the former one and the 
letters handed to the Indian who promised to post 
them at Beaver Town. 

The journey down the river was easily and 
quickly accomplished and the following evening 
found them at their destination, where arrange- 
ments were made for taking care of the canvas 
canoe till September the tenth, when the Sylves- 
ters would arrive. 

Charlie and Jack were delighted to find them- 
selves the proud owners of the beautiful birch 
bark. It was a thing they had always longed to 
possess and though really no easier to paddle 
than the canvas one it had the advantage of being 
a trifle lighter and much more readily repaired in 
case of damage. With the aid of a little melted 
pitch and a piece of bark or even canvas a fair 
sized hole could be mended securely in a few 
minutes. 

As they were about to start off in the canoe with 
the intention of returning to camp, Charlie was 
struck with the idea that this would be a good 
opportunity to get some supplies from Beaver 
Town. By doing so they would greatly reduce the 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 167 


loads to be carried when the rest of the family 
arrived. 

“Jolly good idea, Charlie,” Jack replied when he 
heard the suggestion. “Then, when Dad and the 
others come, we shall be in such a blessed hurry to 
take them to the camp that we won’t want to carry 
any extra loads, let alone make double carries. 
It will also be a good chance to get whatever let- 
ters there may be for us.” 

So it was arranged, and they went by the steamer 
which left a few hours later. At Beaver Town they 
found that there was no news from Cooper and 
Gibson. This was very disappointing, but per- 
haps it meant that they were on the trail. Having 
secured nearly all the food stuffs that would be 
necessary for the family’s use during their visit, 
they returned with their load to Four Island Camp, 
and arrived five days later. 

On their way over MacPherson’s trail they had an 
amusing experience, at least it was amusing from 
Jack’s point of view. Owing to the dry weather 
the dead leaves made the ground very slippery. 
Charlie was coming down a fairly steep bank 
carrying the bark canoe, when suddenly his feet 
slipped from under him and he came sliding down 
the bank with the canoe on top of him. It is 
scarcely to be wondered at that Jack roared with 
laughter as he turned and saw only a pair of feet and 



168 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



Charlie slipped down the smooth bank and lay there completely covered 
by the canoe , much to Jack’s amusement 


a hand sticking up from under the boat. Charlie 
too was laughing so hard that he could scarcely 
extricate himself from his ignominious and ex- 
tinguished position. 

The day following their return to camp they were 
busily engaged in putting the supplies away when 
Jack caught sight of a moose swimming in the lake, 
and called Charlie who immediately said: 

“Let’s go out and see if we can get alongside. 
It would be rather good fun.” No sooner said than 
done. The canoe was pushed into the lake and off 
they went at full speed. The moose seeing them 
coming made every effort to reach the shore, with 
the result that there was a regular race, and the 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 169 



Charlie enjoys a ride on the young bull moose 


boys had to use their utmost effort to overtake the 
young bull. This they finally succeeded in doing 
and Jack, holding on to its mane, let the animal 
tow them along. Charlie seeing a chance for some 
sport called out: 

“Hang on while I get my moccasins off, and I’ll 
have a ride.” He quickly got rid of all super- 
fluous clothing and then slid out right on to the 
moose’s back. The scared animal gave a sudden 
burst of speed and Charlie found himself flounder- 
ing in the water. His companion picked him up 
and then the two paddled as hard as they could and 
just managed to get between the shore and the 
moose, and succeeded in turning him. A few 



170 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


minutes later Charlie made another try and this 
time managed to secure a firm seat on his novel 
steed, very much to the disgust and alarm of that 
steed. Jack laughed so much that he could not 
keep up with the wonderful swimmer that despite 
his unusual load made most marvellous speed. 
Charlie hanging on to the long mane was trying 
to decide whether to get off in the water or take a 
chance of making a landing. Just what the animal 
would do when he got ashore no one could say. 
The chances were that he would be far too fright- 
ened to do anything but bolt for the woods. Charlie 
thought he would stick on as long as he could, while 
the moose, gasping for breath, made for the nearest 
shore which happened to be low and marshy with 
no trees near enough to be dangerous. Very soon 
shallow water was reached and the daring rider 
had all he could do to keep his seat when the animal 
began to touch soft bottom. Soon he found better 
foothold and gave a sudden burst of speed and be- 
fore Charlie knew what had happened he found 
himself floundering in the shallow muddy water not 
deep enough for swimming and too muddy for 
walking, while the moose relieved of the load 
sprinted away at his best speed. For a time 
Charlie struggled without success and finally lay 
on his back and waited for the canoe. 

“A fine horseman, you are!” was Jack’s heartless 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 171 


greeting, “getting dumped in the mud by a rotten 
little bull moose. What a filthy mess you are in. 
I think I shall have to tow you out into deeper water 
to get cleaned off.” Charlie was too winded to speak 
and had all he could do to clamber into the canoe 

“Well, I think once is enough for that trick, Jack, 
but it really was awful good sport! If only I had 
not been such an ass as to try to make a landing. 
Great Caesar! He nearly broke my back! As a 
water steed he is fine, but on land — no, thank you, 
never again ! ” 

“Oh, but I do wish I had got a photo of you 
when you went off. It really was funny, and what 
a grand splash you made.” 

“ Glad you enjoyed yourself, even if it was at my 
expense. Now, if you are quite ready, we’ll go 
back to camp as I rather imagine my clothes are 
damp, and I must get rid of some of this black 
mud.” 



CHAPTER X 

The boys discover a porcupine eating their best paddle; 
Charlie also discovers to his cost that the animals are well 
armed. The porcupine and some of his habits. The 
Sylvesters arrive and are delighted with the camp. They 
visit the beaver ponds and Evelyn has an amusing experi- 
ence with a bull-frog. 

* I S HE August days were drawing to a close. 

“*■ Only two weeks to wait before the Sylves- 
ters were due. Four Island Camp must be made as 
attractive as possible so the boys devoted much of 
their time to making all sorts of improvements and 
to cutting a sufficient supply of fire wood to last for 
a full month. 

The various beaver colonies were visited and in 
several of them the animals had begun to do a little 
preliminary work, mostly in the way of repairing 
dams and lodges. One entirely new dam was dis- 
covered. It was the beginning of a colony and 
thus afforded the boys the greatest interest, as they 
would have an opportunity of seeing the pond grow 
from the actual beginning. By the end of their 


172 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 173 


stay the little colony would probably be in full 
working order. 

In commending the dam it was observed that 
there appeared to be no particular reason for having 
selected the site. The stream was about twenty 
feet wide, and in this a few alders were laid with 
the thick ends up stream so that the branches 
caught in the muddy bottom and acted as a sort of 
anchor; here and there lumps of sod were used to 
weight down the sticks. As yet very little work 
had been done, but it would be interesting to see 
how much would be accomplished during the next 
two or three weeks. 

On returning to the canoe which had been left 
on the shore of Third Lake the boys heard a curious, 
crunching sound. They crept cautiously forward, 
and soon saw a large porcupine enjoying a dinner of 
paddle. The strange animal was gnawing away at 
a great rate and did not hear their approach. Now 
it happened to be Charlie’s favourite paddle and 
he did not propose to have it eaten; so, much as he 
would have enjoyed watching the animal’s be- 
haviour, he decided to interfere. The porcupine’s 
surprise at seeing the two humans was most amus- 
ing. He looked up at them for a moment with a 
queer expression as though asking why they wanted 
to interrupt him during his meal-time and then, 
leaving the paddle, he quietly started to walk away, 



174 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


without the least appearance of hurry. Charlie 
ran round and foolishly managed to stop directly 
in front of him, not more than a foot or so away. 
Quick as a wink the apparently slow animal swung 
round and struck Charlie’s foot a hard blow with 
his heavy well armed tail. Though Charlie 
jumped back, he was not quick enough to avoid 
receiving a full dose of quills, some of which 
went through the leather and penetrated his foot. 
For a moment the fretful porcupine stood still and 
looked like a well filled pincushion. All over his 
back the quills were pointing in every direction, 
especially forward. The porcupine believes 
thoroughly in turning his back to the enemy and 
no matter how Jack tried to get in front, the animal 
was always too quick, and round came the powerful 
tail ready to strike anything within reach. Charlie, 
who in the meantime was sitting on a log and nearly 
helpless, called out: 

“Oh, leave the little brute alone and come here 
and pull out these beastly quills. They have 
pinned the moccasins to my feet and I can’t take a 
step.” 

Jack promptly came to his aid while the porky, 
equally promptly, took advantage of the situation 
and made off to a more restful clime, leaving his 
vanquished enemy to struggle with the painful and 
most unpleasant task of extracting several dozen 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 175 


sharp pointed barbed quills. Charlie’s opinion of 
porcupines in general and this one in particular 
became more and more unprintable, as each offend- 
ing quill was cut out. After more than an hour 
of hard work his foot was freed from all unnecessary 
projections, and he was once more able to walk, 
though not with any noticeable degree of pleasure. 
The first thing he did was to pick up the mutilated 
paddle. Fortunately they had arrived in time to 
save it from complete destruction, as the animal 
had little more than commenced his eccentric meal, 
and had only nibbled round the narrow part near 
the end of the handle. 

Any wood, cloth, or leather that has been much 
in contact with the human hand is much sought 
after by the porcupine. Apparently there is a 
certain amount of salt and grease in the material 
which suits their peculiar taste. Therefore in the 
country where they live it is never safe to leave 
anything of the sort within their reach. Salt in 
almost any form tempts them to take most ab- 
sured risks, but of all foods, bacon or pork makes 
perhaps the strongest appeal to their palate, and 
they will even climb out on the thinnest branches to 
secure it. In build they are to all appearances 
very clumsy and it is astonishing that they are 
able to climb almost any tree with ease and re- 
markable speed. Frequently they pay nocturnal 



176 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


visits to farms where they and the dogs have lively 
encounters. The wise dog leaves them religiously 
alone; those who have not learned their lesson from 
sad experience will rush at the unwelcome visitor; 
the result is usually highly disastrous to the foolish 
dog, who is forced to retire with his nose and paws 
filled with quills. The common idea that the 
porcupine shoots his quills is quite incorrect. 
The quills are lightly attached to the animal, and 
are very sharply pointed and slightly barbed at 
the outer ends. They enter any reasonably soft 
substance with the least pressure. As a rule, in an 
encounter the porcupine’s quills come from the tail, 
which is the animal’s chief weapon. The tail is 
about a foot in length, very thick and strong, and 
covered with coarse hair and quills. The flesh of 
the American porcupine is fairly palatable and, as 
the animal is one of the few that can be killed by 
man armed with nothing more complicated than a 
stick, it has frequently supplied a meal to those 
who have been lost in the Northern woods. 

It was some days before Charlie recovered from 
his meeting with porky; his foot had been so badly 
inflamed that he could not endure the pressure of 
even the softest moccasins, and for a time he was 
afraid he would be unable to go down to meet the 
Sylvesters. However, thanks to his fine healthy 
constitution, the healing process continued rapidly. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 177 


Two days before it was time to start down river he 
had recovered entirely, and it was a question 
whether he or Jack was the more excited when the 
morning arrived for them to leave camp. They 
were up with the first gleam of dawn and well on 
their way down the river by the time the sun, round 
and red, crept up over the tree tops. All day they 
travelled, never content to let the current carry 
them along, but paddling the bark canoe over the 
dancing crests without resting except for lunch. 
It was a race against the sun, and they won the 
race, arriving at the steamer landing as the sky was 
putting on its evening clothes of pink and yellow. 

To the excited pair the morning seemed very slow 
in coming. They awoke at dawn and were soon 
ready for the steamer’s arrival though there was 
little chance of her coming till after ten o’clock. 
As a matter of fact it was nearly eleven before 
smoke was seen down the lake. Gradually the 
vessel herself came into sight and she seemed most 
aggravatingly slow to the boys who stood waiting 
on the end of the little wooden pier. Another half 
hour passed and then figures could be distin- 
guished. Soon hands were seen to wave. This 
ended the suspense, for there was now no doubt 
that the family was on board. It was a happy 
meeting that took place on the steamer some 
minutes later. Probably no one was happier than 



178 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



The porcupine indulges in a meed of paddle; a curious item of food. 
Only the handle is eaten because of the salty taste which comes from con- 
tact with the human hand. 


Mrs. Sylvester when she saw her son so bronzed and 
well! Quite a different being from the pale boy 
who had left her only a few weeks before. Mr. 
Sylvester looked at the sunburnt pair and turning 
to his wife said : 

“Well, Mary, old Saunders’s medicine seems to 
have worked wonders; did you ever see such a 
change in your life? Not much the matter with 
them, eh? ” 

“We are both able to sit up and take a small bit of 
nourishment, if properly urged,” Jack replied and 
added, “but we ought to be getting ashore. Come 
along, Evelyn.” 




TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 179 



Charlie pointing out the camp to Evelyn . Big-ears , Fluff, and the red 
squirrel greeted the newcomer in various ways 


Having said good-bye to the captain and thanked 
him for all his kindness, they stepped out to the 
pier where their belongings were piled up. It did 
not take long to load up the canoes; Jack went with 
his father and mother, while Evelyn, to her great 
delight, went in the birch bark with Charlie. It 
was a jolly party that paddled away that bright 
September day. 

The journey up river took two and a half days 
and they reached MacPherson’s trail late in the 
afternoon. Each one shouldered a load of such 
things as would be most necessary for immediate 
use. The rest of the outfit was left to be carried 
over the following morning. As soon as they ar- 
rived at Four Island Lake, Charlie took Evelyn 



180 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


in the canoe and started for the camp a minute 
ahead of the others. He wanted her to be the 
first to land. As they stepped ashore, Big-ears 
came hopping down to welcome them, much to 
Evelyn’s delight. She had heard of the little hare 
and was glad to see him. The various other camp 
pets were somewhat suspicious. The jays flew 
about and made many remarks about the new 
arrival but would not come very near, while the 
red squirrel stuck his head round the tree trunk 
and scolded to his heart’s content. Charlie 
pointed out the different arrangements of the camp 
but would not take Evelyn up till the others 
joined them. It was with pride that the boys 
showed their well-planned camp, and, as Mr. 
Sylvester said, it would have been difficult to im- 
prove on it in any respect. Evelyn was particu- 
larly pleased with the bark shack that had been 
built especially for her. 

Charlie suggested that he would start getting 
the evening meal ready while the others should 
try and catch some trout. Mrs. Sylvester stayed 
to help him and get her own and Evelyn’s things 
unpacked. A fine fire was soon burning brightly 
and a pan of soda biscuits baking in the reflecting 
oven. Before these had reached their full golden 
brown colour the fishermen returned bringing 
sixteen nice trout all ready for cooking. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 181 


Evelyn was so happy to be once more in the 
woods with the smell of burning logs and the sweet 
scent of the balsam that she sat quietly enjoying it 
all and scarcely saying a word. 

“What’s the matter, Evie, old girl?” Charlie 
asked, seeing how quiet she was. 

“Matter with me? Nothing on earth. I’m 
just too altogether happy to talk. For weeks I’ve 
been thinking of you both, night and day, and 
envying you every minute, and marking off the 
days in my diary, and now here I am. I can 
scarcely believe it’s true, it’s all so absolutely — 
oh, bother — there is no word to express how I feel. 
I simply love it all and wish I were going to stay 
here forever, don’t you, dear little Big-ears?” 
she asked as the hare put his paws on her dress and 
begged for a bit of biscuit. “And you, Fluff, 
wouldn’t you like us to stay on here for ever and 
ever?” The jay looked at her, turning his head 
sideways, but he stayed on Jack’s arm. The 
other jays had gone to roost for the night but Fluff 
was becoming contaminated by contact with 
human beings and frequently went to bed dis- 
gracefully late. 

While sitting round the blazing camp fire, Charlie 
and Jack gave an account of all that had happened 
to them during the weeks that had passed, in- 
cluding the story of Sneaky Bill and Pete. The 



182 two boys in beaver -land 


Sylvesters had already heard something about this 
from MacPherson and the captain of the steamer. 
Mrs. Sylvester was rather worried at the thought 
that such a character as Sneaky Bill should be 
wandering about the country. But, as her hus- 
band explained, there was slight danger of his pay- 
ing another visit to the camp now that he knew 
the police were after him, and she was finally con- 
vinced that the chance of trouble was quite remote. 
There was much to talk about. It was very late 
when, at Evelyn’s suggestion, they all turned in, 
with the understanding that a visit to some of the 
beaver colonies should be made next day if the 
weather proved favourable. 

Charlie and Jack were up betimes in the morn- 
ing; they planned to go out and get some nice fresh 
trout for breakfast and not awaken the family until 
their return. Evelyn was a very light sleeper and 
she heard them moving about; so, quickly dressing 
herself, she rushed down just as the two were about 
to launch one of the canoes. 

“You’re a fine pair of schemers, aren’t you? 
You thought you could skip off and leave me be- 
hind! Next time don’t make quite so much noise 
and you may succeed,” she remarked, and added as 
she saw they had their rods, “if you are going fish- 
ing, you will kindly wait till I get my rod.” 

“All right, old girl,” Charlie said laughing. “We 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 183 


thought you would bite our heads off, if we waked 
you up so early. However, we are really delighted 
to have you with us. Only remember you must 
not catch the biggest fish as you did last night; 
you’ll get altogether too stuck up.” 

She scarcely heard the remark as she was already 
half way to where her light trout rod hung. It 
did not take long to catch enough fish for break- 
fast as the trout were rising well. The fire had 
been started before they had gone out fishing and 
when they returned was in good condition, with a 
hot bed of glowing embers. Jack called his father 
and mother; breakfast was prepared and ready 
by the time everyone had finished their morning 
toilet. 

As the weather was fine it was decided that they 
should first go down to the river and bring up the 
rest of the outfit and then go off for the day and 
pay visits to the various beaver places. 

It did not take long to get the outfit and then, 
after preparing a light lunch, they started out for 
the day. On their way to the canal, which was the 
show piece of the district, several moose were seen 
much to Evelyn’s excitement, for she had never 
been at all near one before. She was greatly in- 
terested in Charlie’s account of his famous ride and 
amused at the ignominious ending. Before reach- 
ing the canal Mr. Sylvester noticed a peculiar 


184 two boys in beaver-land 



Stump of a tree cut down by beaver . The tree cuttings show that snow 
had fallen while the animals were at work 


high stump round which were several cuttings. It 
was evidently beaver work as the teeth marks were 
quite clear. After some discussion they came to 
the conclusion that a heavy fall of snow had in- 
terrupted the animals after they had begun their 
task; probably the next attempt was made standing 
on the snow, when, again snow had fallen and 
covered up their work; so a third and final attempt 
was made and the tree cut down. 

During the day several ponds were examined 
and in one of them three beaver were seen, but 
only for a moment, as the approach had been made 
down wind and the scent was carried to the animals. 
A visit was paid to the dam which the boys had 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 185 



discovered in its early stages of construction, and it 
was found to have been enlarged considerably 
though it was not yet water-tight. Evelyn and 
her parents were fascinated by all the wonderful 
evidence of beaver work and the extraordinary 
skill displayed, but of course the work was almost 
entirely old. Scarcely any indications of recent 
activity were found. Not until the leaves began to 
turn would the autumn work commence and then 
as the nights became colder the remarkable prepara- 
tions for winter would begin in earnest. As the Syl- 
vesters expected to stay for nearly five weeks they 
hoped to have ample opportunity of seeing plenty 
of interesting examples of what the beaver do. 




186 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


It was decided that for the next two weeks or so 
they could amuse themselves with the fishing. 
This was combining business with pleasure as the 
party of five required a lot of fish for food. Several 
trips were made to the main river for bass, which 
gave excellent sport. Between fishing and short 
expeditions in various directions the days passed 
only too rapidly, but always they were full of in- 
terest. Deer and moose were so abundant that 
a day seldom went by without some being seen, and 
Evelyn in particular was never tired of watching 
the great ungainly moose. They seemed to fas- 
cinate her by their very ugliness. 

Of course the bulls were beginning to pay more 
attention to their personal appearance as the mating 
season was drawing near. Their great antlers 
were fully grown and the velvet, which had pro- 
tected them while the bone was making, was now 
being discarded. Frequently they were seen in 
the woods brushing their horns against the branches 
of trees. Once when Evelyn was out in the woods 
with the boys they came upon a well grown bull. 
For a long time they watched him as he walked 
slowly along picking off the leaves of different 
trees. After a time he came to a young maple 
sapling which had a fine bunch of inviting leaves, 
but well out of the animal’s reach; the bull took one 
look at them and then deliberately straddled the 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 187 


trunk and rode it down without the least effort 
thanks to his great weight. 

On another occasion the boys had a splendid 
joke on poor Evelyn. It was early one fine morn- 
ing and they had gone out to a small pond where 
moose were in the habit of feeding. All three 
were hiding in a patch of thick undergrowth when 
there was a crashing sound in the woods and 
suddenly a strange roar that seemed to come from 
almost anywhere was heard. Evelyn who had 
been watching and listening very intently started 
violently at the sound and exclaimed in an excited 
voice: 

“What’s that, is it the moose coming for us?” 

This was too much for the boys. They threw 
discretion to the winds and indulged in a hearty 
laugh, much to Evelyn’s indignation. 

“Come on,” said Charlie, as soon as he regained 
his self-control, “and we will find your roaring 
moose.” 

He and Jack got up and walked toward the edge 
of the pond. Evelyn followed a little shame- 
facedly, as she had begun to have a suspicion as to 
what had made the sudden roar. The boys peered 
about for a few minutes then, Charlie called out: 

“Here’s your bull moose! Come carefully, or he 
may charge you.” 

Evelyn approached and saw an immense bull frog 


188 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


sitting on a flat stone surrounded by the floating 
water lily leaves. The frog looked so comical that 
Evelyn could not resist joining in the boys’ laugh. 

“I don’t care! It was a bull, even if it was only 
a bull frog instead of a bull moose. But, joking 
aside, did you ever hear a bull frog make such a 
terrific noise?” 

“Oh, rather, these giants up in this country have 
wonderfully developed vocal organs. Several times 
when we have been watching in the quiet evenings 
they have made us start, but you were funny, old 
girl. I wish you could have seen your expres- 
sion,” and Charlie laughed as he thought of it. 



CHAPTER XI 

The summer ends and the heaver begin to think of work. 
An account of heaver and their domestic arrangements. 
The animals are seen at work. Evelyn and the camp pets. 
An interesting evening. 

OEPTEMBER was drawing to a close. Here 
^ and there in the woods and swamps stray 
maples, like tongues of fire, stood out brilliantly 
in the landscape. The birches were sprinkled 
with the purest gold and the beaver knew by these 
signs that their days of indolence were passed and 
much work lay before them if they would prepare 
for the long, bitter winter. Dams must be built up 
and tightened and strengthened to enlarge the 
ponds; lodges be made roomy enough to hold the 
growing families, and they must be put in repair 
ready for the plastering of mud; bedding would be 
needed for their personal comfort during the long 
period of imprisonment when there would be little 
to do but sleep. And, hardest work of all, trees in 
dozens must be felled, cut up and taken to the 
store house near the lodges. 


189 



i9o TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



The huge hull frog whose strange calls frightened Evelyn and made her 
believe that a moose was coming for her 


For all this work only six or eight weeks were 
allowed. One might wonder why it was put off till 
so late; why could not the trees be cut during the 
long summer days? The answer is somewhat hard 
to give with accuracy. In trying to look for a 
reason one first notes that the beaver does not work 
by daylight except on rare occasions. He prefers 
the privacy of darkness, or at best the light of the 
moon and stars. In the Northern country the 
nights are short during the summer months, too 
short, indeed, for the accomplishment of much 
work. 

But perhaps this is not the chief cause for de- 
laying the work. We find that for some reason 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 191 



Beaver cutting gtass for bedding. Both grass and long torn strips of soft 
wood, such as cedar are used 


best known to themselves the beaver do not cut 
down trees for storage while the sap is running. 
It is safe to presume that there is a purpose in this; 
probably the bark which forms the animals ’ food 
does not keep in good condition under water unless 
it is properly matured. Around a beaver pond 
trees may be found frequently with several cuts 
made through the bark and into the actual wood. 
According to many woodsmen this is the work of 
the master beaver who blazes these trees which he 
thinks should be cut, so that the younger and less 
experienced members of the colony will fell only 
those that are suitable. This is of course a very 
pretty fairy story, but it has probably not the 



IQ2 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


slightest bit of truth in it. From careful observa- 
tion I am convinced that the cut is made in order to 
ascertain whether the sap has stopped running. 
In some instances a tree will be “girdled,” that is to 
say, the bark is cut completely round the trunk. 
This prevents the flow of the sap and kills the tree. 
(The sap is the life of a tree and corresponds more 
or less to the blood in an animal.) This is evidently 
done to hasten the drying, and the tree, after being 
left for a week or two, will be cut down. We can 
see, therefore, that there are some reasons for 
delaying the wood cutting until autumn, though 
perhaps these are not the correct explanations. 

Why the dams are not more often built during 
the summer is difficult to say. Perhaps the reason 
is to be found in the domestic arrangements of the 
beaver family which briefly are as follows: Mr. 
and Mrs. Beaver have a house which they share 
with their young (four and five in number) that 
were born in the spring. During the first months 
of the lives of these young ones they are not strong 
enough to do much work and, as autumn draws to a 
close and winter comes, they stay with their par- 
ents. Early in the spring Mrs. Beaver prepares 
for a new family and as a rule sends her mate off 
to take care of himself ; he is probably very much in 
the way as the lodge is decidedly restricted in its 
accommodation. The young arrive in April or 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 193 


thereabouts, funny little imitations of their parents, 
even to their teeth, which are well formed, though 
small, at birth. It is not long before they are 
taken out in the lake, where of course they swim 
instinctively. The fanciful story tellers’ accounts 
of how they are taught by their parents to swim 
are too ridiculous to merit serious consideration. 
Anything that is instinctive does not have to be 
taught, otherwise it would no longer be instinct; 
feeding, walking, swimming, climbing, hiding, 
playing, come to all creatures according to their 
requirements, just as naturally as breathing and 
sleeping; so the little beaver go out of their home 
and make their bow to the great world which at this 
time is waking up after the long winter sleep and is 
so thoroughly alive and wonderful in its fresh green 
clothing. For many weeks they come out to play 
and grow strong. During this period the lodge is 
not their exclusive home. Holes in banks are used 
more frequently, so that the lodge may be cleaned 
and aired. The family of the previous year are 
now fully grown and though they usually stay in 
the vicinity of their home, they are preparing to 
move away and seek their fortunes elsewhere. It 
is late in the summer before they go in search of 
mates and places for their new homes. As they 
travel usually along water courses, they examine 
the country very carefully for traces of others of 



194 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



A<?&> 


Birch bee cut into by beaver to find whether it is in fit condition for 
felling 


their kind and leave and receive little messages in a 
curious manner. Small mud uiles are made on 
convenient points of land. Each beaver, when he 
fi n ds one of these, adds a handful or two of mud 
which is believed to be scented with his or her 
particular brand of castoreum. (The castoreum 
is a curious musk smelling substance secreted in 
certain glands. It has been used medicinally by 
human beings ever since very early ages and 
is mentioned by both Hippocrates and Pliny.) 
This imparts certain information which is probably 
of direct interest to the little animals. If fortune 
favours our wanderer he finds a mate and forthwith 
a new colony is started. 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND i 95 



The latest edition of the Beaver News. Adding a little mud to the pile , 
which is the beaver's method of giving information to his friends 


As by this time it is early autumn, it is easy to see 
why the dam and lodge were not built earlier. But 
we must go back to Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. He, 
like a dutiful husband has returned (they mate for 
life and should one of the pair die, it is believed 
that the survivor remains solitary for the rest of 
his or her life), and the summer months are devoted 
to taking care of the young family. These are not 
old enough to be of any help in building operations 
until autumn; this mav be another reason for post- 
poning serious work until that time. 

One evening Charlie and Jack went off to have a 
look at some of the beaver ponds to find out whether 
serious building operations had commenced. The 



196 two boys in beaver-land 


first pond they visited was the new one they had 
discovered some weeks earlier. To their delight 
they found the dam was nearly completed, and 
was fully seventy-five feet long and about four feet 
high; it was solidly built of sticks and mud through 
which no water escaped. The pond resulting from 
the construction of this dam covered two or three 
acres; on an island was a lodge more than half 
finished. No sign of the beaver themselves was 
seen, so the boys went on to another pond farther 
up the stream. They approached very cautiously 
in hopes of seeing the animals at work. When 
within a few yards of the edge of the water they took 
cover behind a clump of alders and willows, and 
lay there for some time before anything happened. 
The evening was so calm that the pond was like a 
mirror in which was reflected each tree and stump 
of the opposite shore with marvellous clearness. 
Suddenly the smoothness of the water was dis- 
turbed by a beaver swimming and carrying in his 
mouth a branch for his evening meal; with this he 
landed quite close to the two silent watchers and, 
sitting comfortably on his broad flat tail, proceeded 
to enjoy his supper of bark. When the branch was 
entirely peeled, it was dropped into the water and 
the beaver swam away, disappearing into the water 
without making a ripple. 

As nothing further occurred during the next half 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 197 


hour, Charlie proposed going to the dam to ex- 
amine it. Creeping noiselessly along, the two boys 
approached the long bow-shaped dam, but just 
before they reached it, a dark object was seen mov- 
ing slowly through the water, twenty or thirty 
yards from the shore. Then the object seemed to 
grow suspicious and remained motionless for many 
minutes. During this time a slight current of air 
drifted from the boys across the quiet water. Sud- 
denly the beaver, warned by the scent thus carried, 
discovered their presence, and without a moment’s 
hesitation gave the water a resounding smack with 
his tail so as to warn any other beaver in the vicinity 
that the enemy was about, and disappeared. 

This curious method of signalling is peculiar 
to the beaver and is most effective; the sound, 
which is as loud as a pistol shot, is carried by the 
water an extraordinary distance; every beaver 
that hears it immediately seeks cover and as a rule 
will not reappear for a long time. This, it may be 
added, is the chief function of the beaver’s large 
heavy tail; beyond its signalling value it is chiefly 
used as a balance to assist the animal in standing 
erect, as it does when cutting branches and carry- 
ing them, or when engaged in building operations. 
It is not used as a trowel notwithstanding what 
popular writers may say, nor for carrying mud. 

As the boys knew full well that there was no use in 



198 two boys in beaver-land 



The smoothness of the water was disturbed by a beaver swimming and 
catrying a branch for his evening meal 


remaining once the alarm had been sounded they 
left the pond after inspecting the dam and re- 
turned to camp thoroughly pleased with the result 
of their investigations. When Evelyn heard that 
the beaver were really getting busy she suggested 
that they all go the following afternoon and be 
prepared to stay till dark on the chance of seeing 
the animals at work. It would be a good time to 
go as the evening would not be too dark owing to 
the moon being nearly full. 

The morning broke dull and foreboding; before 
nine o’clock rain began to fall in that steady 
determined way which offers no hope even to the 
most optimistic; so the day was spent in camp, 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 199 



Suddenly the heaver discovered their presence and gave the watei a re- 
sounding smack with his tail 


except for a short time when some fishing was 
done purely for larder purposes. The various pets 
helped to amuse and interest the family. Evelyn 
continued her attempts to conquer c< Fliptail, ,> as she 
called the red squirrel, because he never kept his tail 
still. Curiously enough the red squirrel differs 
from his gray cousin in that he is very hard to tame, 
but Evelyn’s constant efforts produced some results, 
and, though always suspicious, Fliptail would con- 
descend to sit on her arm and once or twice even 
allowed her to stroke his back. No one else was 
permitted to indulge in such familiarities. One of 
the jays also became devoted to her, while Big-ears 
divided his affections between Evelyn and Charlie. 



200 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


The long day dragged, as wet days do in camp. 
At night, when they all turned in, the rain was still 
pattering steadily on the tents as though prepared 
to go on indefinitely. Shortly after midnight, 
however, the sky cleared and the large moon shone 
brightly on the land and promised that the coming 
day should be fine. The promise was kept; a more 
wonderful morning could not have been, and the 
family woke to see the dampened woods sparkling 
with white frost. There is something about the 
Northern woods on a bright frosty autumn morning 
that cannot be described. It is intoxicating, and 
makes one glad to be alive and out in the wilds, 
far away from dreary, smoky, crowded cities where 
rest is not known. So thought each member of 
the Sylvester family as they sat round the primitive 
table on the home-made chairs and ate the delicious 
well-browned trout. All agreed that a special 
vote of thanks was owed to the God of the woods 
who allowed them to enjoy the simple yet withal 
complex beauties of his great domain. 

An all-day trip was arranged with the idea of not 
returning till quite late, so provisions were taken 
for two meals, and off they went to make the most 
of the glorious weather. By unanimous consent 
Long Lake was chosen as their objective. The 
day was spent in looking at beaver works and doing 
some fishing until the middle of the afternoon when 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 201 


the party returned to one of the nearer ponds where 
they intended to spend the evening. Supper was 
prepared and eaten before they took up their 
positions. The sun was nearing the horizon by 
the time they had ensconced themselves com- 
fortably a little distance from a large dam. To 
make sure that the beaver would do some work 
Jack made an opening about three feet wide in 
the dam so that the water might escape and warn 
the animals that something was WTong. As the 
sun sank below the trees in the west the full moon 
rose in the east, and cast its gentle light on the 
woods and water. 

The watchers did not have long to wait before 
things began to happen. First of all a deer, fol- 
lowed by a well grown fawn, came out of the woods 
on the opposite shore. These two had their even- 
ing drink of cool water and then, using the dam 
as a bridge, crossed over to where the Sylvesters 
were hiding. The beautiful pair were entirely 
unsuspicious until they came to within four or five 
yards of the human beings. Then the tainted air 
struck their sensitive nostrils and with a cry of 
fear they bounded away with long, easy jumps. 

Next came an owl that sat on a spruce tree 
directly over Evelyn’s head. It was a much 
puzzled owl, evidently a complete stranger to 
human beings. For a long time he stared down, 



202 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


moving his large head backward and forward as he 
looked first at one and then another of the party. 
No one moved, so the owl dropped lightly to a 
lower branch not more than ten feet from the 
ground. At that moment Evelyn was overcome 
with a violent desire to sneeze, which would not be 
suppressed but burst forth in full force. This was , 
too much for the poor owl. He did not wait to 
argue with creatures that made such strange 
noises, but flew off silently like a gigantic moth. 

In the lake many muskrats could be seen swim- 
ming about, like dark spots at the point of each 
quivering V-shaped trail that rippled on the surface 
of the placid water. Then at last came a larger 
dark object and it moved so slowly that it scarcely 
disturbed the calm water. Sometimes it stopped 
absolutely still as though listening; the stillness of 
the evening was unbroken and the air was free 
from taint; so the beaver came to the dam and he 
saw that the water was escaping. A piece of drift 
wood was soon found and brought to where the 
water was rushing out. After some manipulating, 
this wood was placed securely in the breach. Then 
the little engineer came ashore and cut down a 
large alder and added this to the drift wood. Of 
course these could not check the flow of water so 
he dived under the stream and after about a minute 
reappeared carrying a large sod which with ex- 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 203 


traordinary speed he forced in between the wood- 
work; but a lot more was required; so the 
industrious creature dove again and, again coming 
up each time with a sod. 

While this was going on, another beaver came 
on the scene. Seeing that the repair work was 
progressing well and apparently not being very 
fond of dam building, this late comer landed and 
made his way directly to a small birch tree that 
was not more than ten yards from the clump of 
bushes which concealed the interested observers. 
He walked round the tree several times as though 
sizing up the situation and then without more ado, 
began cutting through the silvery bark. Crunch, 
crunch, crunch, went the sharp teeth. The sound 
was strangely loud in the stillness of the night. 
The tree was not more than six inches in diameter 
and the beaver’s teeth were in good condition. So 
within half an hour a creaking was heard, followed 
immediately by a swishing sound, as the little 
birch came crashing to earth. During this time 
the other beaver had been busy making the dam 
secure, and had paid no attention to the tree cut- 
ting. A certain writer has described how the 
beaver act when felling trees. This writer de- 
clares that, while one beaver does the cutting, 
another stays in the water and watches the tree; 
as soon as he sees it begin to sway, he warns his 




204 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


The wood cutters. Beaver engaged in cutting down a birch tree in order 
to secure the branches for the winter’s supply of food 


companion. Both retire to the safety of the lake 
as soon as the tree falls, and remain there for a long 
time, in fear lest the sound may have attracted their 
enemies. This is another of the many fables con- 
nected with beaver and their work. To begin 
with how can a beaver distinguish from the water 
the tree that is being cut among the other trees 
whose branches all intermingle and form a great 
dark mass in the night? and then, why should 
one have to give a warning when the other who is 
doing the cutting can feel and hear the first creak 
of the tree when it is about to fall? As to any 
reason for remaining quiet for fear that the sound 
of the crash might attract enemies, it is a foolish 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 205 



The heaver bites of the branches -within reach before cutting down the 
tree 


idea because the noise of cutting the wood can be 
heard distinctly for a long distance. 

No sooner had our beaver brought down the 
birch than he cut off a branch and carried it to the 
water and swam away in the direction of the 
lodge. A little later he reappeared, but on landing 
did not go directly to the tree. Instead he went 
round the bushes which concealed the interested 
watchers and came to within a few feet of Jack 
before getting a whiff of the much dreaded human 
scent. For a moment the surprised animal stood 
up as though to make sure and then with remark- 
able speed rushed straight to the lake and on enter- 
ing gave a terrific slap with his heavy tail and 



206 two boys in beaver-land 


vanished. At this time the second beaver was 
standing on the dam putting some finishing touches 
to his repair work. Immediately on hearing the 
warning signal he lost all interest in the dam and 
slipped quickly into the water and dived. The 
boys then stood up and suggested that they had 
better return to camp as the evening performance 
was finished. It had been an extraordinary, inter- 
esting experience for them all, and luck had been 
good to them beyond their wildest expectation. 



CHAPTER XII 

Autumn. The heaver work hard and accomplish much . 
Notes of interest. The Sylvesters leave and take Big-ears 
with them. The boys feel lonely. They meet a large bull 
moose. They also meet some old friends. 

AUTUMN had come to the Canadian woods; 
the recent frosts had hurried the colouring 
of the leaves and all save the evergreens were 
clothed in their glorious tints of gold, orange, and 
scarlet in brilliant contrast to their sombre neigh- 
bours the spruces and pines. The whole country 
was like fairyland and the crisp, fresh air of the 
fall was good to breathe. Evelyn gazed on the 
landscape and felt rebellious. It did not seem 
right to leave such beauty and return to the land of 
brick and mortar. Yet in four days more she 
would be going down the river and her holiday — and 
such a holiday — would be a thing of the past, just a 
wonderful memory of the weeks of happiness un- 
marred by a single cloud. Charlie and she were 
drifting along in the canoe. Neither of them spoke 
much, yet each was thinking of the same thing. 


207 


208 two boys in beaver-land 


“Never mind, Eves, old girl, we have had a jolly 
time and we must simply look forward to coming up 
somewhere in this country again,” he said, trying 
to cheer her up a bit. 

“That’s all right, but I like the present so much 
better than the future. You can never tell what 
may happen. While here we are and it seems a 
beastly shame to leave it all. However, I suppose 
there’s no use complaining, but I wish that Thursday 
was four weeks away instead of four miserable short 
days. Oh! how I hate going.” Big-ears, who was 
in the canoe, seemed to realize that something was 
wrong and came up to Evelyn and looked up into 
her face while he flopped his large ears backward 
and forward. “What do you think about it, 
bunny?” Evelyn said, taking the hare in her lap. 
“And who’s going to look after you when we are all 
gone? Some horrid old lynx will catch you, I sup- 
pose. Look here, Charlie, why can’t I take him 
with me when I go? We could easily fix up a 
place for him near the house.” 

Charlie, who had often wondered whether this 
was not feasible, replied after a moment’s hesita- 
tion: “I suppose it could be done, but it will be 
quite a job getting him home. You would have 
to get a basket or something to carry him in. We’ll 
ask your mother and father what they think of it.” 
Eventually it was arranged that Big-ears should 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 209 


be saved from some hungry lynx or fox and be 
taken home by Evelyn to live a life of comfort, 
entirely free from trouble and anxiety. 

Two days before the time set for leaving Four 
Island Camp a long trip was made among the differ- 
ent beaver colonies, chiefly for the purpose of see- 
ing the wood-cutting that had been done. The 
time was now getting short and evidence of activity 
was found about every one of the occupied ponds. 
Another month and severe frosts and snow might 
be expected and then it would be too late. 

Around some of the larger colonies the number 
of trees that had been cut was truly astonishing, 
and in nearly every case roadways leading from 
the trees to the pond had been carefully cleared 
of obstacles in order to facilitate the carrying of 
material. Some of these roads were seven or eight 
feet wide and as much as several hundred feet long. 
Where the trees had been cut near lakes or streams, 
it was observed that nearly all had fallen toward 
the water. This gave rise to the question of whether 
the animals did this deliberately, but a careful 
examination of the trees still standing showed that 
most of them either leaned toward the water, or at 
least had their greater development of branches on 
the water or brighter side, so that it was evident 
the trees, when cut, would naturally fall in that 
direction. Branches grow larger and heavier 



2io TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


toward the greatest amount of light and there 
is no doubt that this has given rise to the popular 
belief that the beaver knows which way the tree 
will fall. As a matter of fact he does not ; he simply 
cuts the tree and it falls as it will. Many mistakes 
are made by the little lumbermen, and trees very 
frequently become lodged in the branches of their 
neighbours. In these cases the beaver, reluctant 
to lose the results of his work, will make repeated 
efforts to bring the tree down by cutting through 
the trunk a foot or two above where it rests against 
the ground. 

Some interesting examples were found of where 
the beaver had displayed extraordinary intelligence 
in shortening the distance between the fallen tree 
and the store house, which is always in the water 
adjoining the lodge; short canals were cut through 
points of land, or through islands, and in one in- 
stance, where water transport would have necessi- 
tated a hard swim against fairly swift current, a 
short canal and roadway was made by which the 
beaver were able to avoid the current and come into 
the river in a back eddy; where the current was a 
help instead of an obstacle. To accomplish this a 
high degree of reasoning power was required on 
the part of the four-footed engineer. 

The more we study the beaver the more we are 
amazed at their remarkable intelligence and fore- 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 211 


thought. They plan ahead for almost every emer- 
gency. The mere storing of food for winter is 
done by many birds and animals, but the manner 
in which the beaver does it is one of the greatest 
achievements, or rather combination of achieve- 
ments, to be found in the animal world. Almost 
every contingency is guarded against, except the 
deadly steel trap. That weapon handled with 
the ingenuity of man is too much for the wretched 
creatures. They fall easy victims, as we can 
see by considering the appalling number of skins 
that were marketed in the years before reasonable 
laws were made to safeguard the animals and these 
laws were made not a day too soon as the beaver 
was threatened with complete extermination. Had 
this happened the most interesting feature of ani- 
mal life that exists would have vanished for ever, 
to the great and irreparable loss to all of us who 
enjoy a few weeks or months in the Northern 
w T oods. 

To give some idea of the terrible toll taken when 
the trade in beaver pelts was most flourishing about 
the middle of last century, it may be sufficient to 
state that the annual number of skins sold in Eng- 
land alone would frequently exceed the hundred 
thousand mark and in some years nearly doubled 
that number. At that time the fur was used in the 
making of hats; fortunately substitutes have since 


212 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


been found in the different species of rabbits, hares, 
etc. 

In the early history of Canada the beaver played 
a most important part. The skin was the unit 
of exchange; whether it was a blanket, or an axe 
that was needed it cost so many “beaver.” Even 
churches were built from contributions of the skins. 
In fact it entered into everything connected with 
the life and requirements, even the politics of the 
people of Canada and the more northern United 
States and was largely instrumental in opening 
up the country by exploration. This is no place 
to go into the subject as I have already collected 
all that I could find in the way of the most interest- 
ing facts connected with the history of the beaver 
and its relation to man and published it in a previ- 
ous book.* To any one really interested in the 
beaver I can strongly recommend that extraordi- 
nary work, “The Jesuit Relations in Canada,” the 
English translation of which will be found in the 
larger libraries. These priests were careful ob- 
servers and they had to send in a full account of 
everything in the countries to which they were sent. 
So we find in these “Relations” (meaning accounts 
or narrations) that not only do they deal with the 
Indians and their customs and with the agricultural 
and general conditions, but with surprising accur- 

*“The Romance of the Beaver,” published in 1914. 

... — 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 213 


acy do they go into the natural history, devoting 
a great amount of space to the beaver, and give 
many facts connected with them that have never 
been recorded by any other writers. In the course 
of my own investigations, I found an instance of 
where some beaver were building a dam (in New- 
foundland). The structure was almost completed, 
but had not yet got its strength from subsidence, 
when a great rain came and flooded the country. 
The volume of water that rushed down the stream 
across which the dam had been built threatened 
to destroy the beaver’s work, so in order to pro- 
tect the dam they cut it open and let the water 
escape. As soon as things became normal, the 
breach was closed and the structure completed. 
Some years later while reading the “ Relations” 
I found that as far back as 1610 one of the “ Black 
gowns,” as the priests were called by the Indians, 
gave an account of a similar occurrence in the 
following words: “But if the river swell more than 
is safe, they (the beaver) break open some part 
of the structure, and let through as much water 
as seems sufficient.” I thought I had made an 
entirely original observation and w r as amused to 
discover that the priest had beaten me by some 
three hundred years, and so far as I know he was 
the only one who had made note of this extremely 
convincing example of beaver intelligence. 



214 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



Before serious tree felling begins the beaver dear a roadway to the scene 
of their operations 


The Sylvesters spent one of the most interesting 
days they had enjoyed during their holiday looking 
at all the different branches of beaver work and 
returned to camp late that evening, more convinced 
than ever that the study of the beaver was the most 
absorbing of all natural history subjects. 

The following day was devoted to packing and 
getting ready for the journey home, and early 
next morning the party, including Big-ears, left 
Four Island Camp with the deepest regret. A 
more perfect holiday could not have been asked for. 
Everything had gone well from start to finish. 
Poor Evelyn found it very hard to leave the boys 
and begged in vain to be allowed to stay with them 





TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 215 


Early in the morning the fox prowls along the shores of lakes and rivers 
and enjoys a meal of clams 


for the remainder of their time. But neither her 
father nor mother considered it advisable. 

A day and a half was allowed for the run down 
river and they reached the steamer’s pier only half 
an hour before the boat arrived. “ Good-bye, good 
luck to you both! Take care of yourselves and 
remember we shall expect to see you home in six 
weeks,” were the last words Mrs. Sylvester called 
out as the snorting steamer headed down the lake. 
The boys remained on the pier and watched till 
only a tiny curl of black smoke showed the position 
of the boat. 

It seemed very lonely going back to camp by 
themselves and they spoke but little as they made 



216 two boys in beaver-land 


their way against the current. Somehow they felt 
no inclination to hurry, and almost dreaded seeing 
the camp as it was bound to appear so very de- 
serted. Fortunately the exuberance of healthful 
youth does not allow unhappiness or worry to last 
long and by next morning, under the influence of 
the sparkling autumn sunshine and the beauty of 
the country they had resumed their customary 
light-hearted cheerfulness, and were ready to enjoy 
the paddling up stream. The country had changed 
greatly since the first time they had made the trip. 
Then all was green, and animal life abundant. 
Moose and deer were to be seen in most of the 
ponds and swamps. Now the river banks were 
a gorgeous mass of marvellously brilliant colours, 
but the moose and deer no longer showed them- 
selves. They had grown very shy, and had re- 
tired to the seclusion of the thick woods. A fox 
was seen early one morning on the edge of the water 
enjoying a breakfast of clams. Muskrats were the 
only animals that appeared in any number. Mi- 
grating birds were seen in abundance. Ducks 
were found almost everywhere in the shallow 
waters. 

As there was no particular need to get back 
to Four Island Camp on any special day the two 
boys took things slowly, and spent much time 
examining the ponds and backwaters in the vicinity 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 217 


of the river. One evening after having made their 
camp they went out in the canoe to look at an in- 
teresting beaver pond. The dam was formed in 
the shape of the letter S, that is to say, it was 
doubled curved, one side bowed up stream and the 
other down stream and the material composing 
the structure differed from any they had seen 
previously, including a large number of stones 
besides the usual sticks and sod. Some of the 
stones were of considerable size and weighed per- 
haps fifteen or twenty pounds. After a thorough 
examination of the dam they turned their attention 
to the lodge, which had not yet received its plaster- 
ing of mud. While engaged in looking at the rather 
unusual size of the logs used in the construction, 
there came the sound of something moving among 
the trees on the bank and, suddenly, from behind 
the beaver lodge, a gigantic bull moose appeared 
almost on top of the startled boys. For a moment 
the huge beast stood still in a most curious attitude 
and stared with lowered head at the unexpected 
vision of the canoe and its occupants. Then, turn- 
ing sharply and giving a strange grunt, he trotted 
off without appearing to mind how much noise he 
made as his great horns crashed through the 
branches, and yet this same animal could make his 
way through the thickest woods as noiselessly 
almost as a cat if he thought he had not been seen. 



2 18 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


“By Jove, I thought the big beast wanted to 
come into the canoe! What a scare he gave me.” 

“Me too,” Charlie replied. “But I believe he 
was even more frightened than we were. Did you 
hear something that sounded like people’s voices 
just now while the old moose was admiring us? 
Let’s get back to the river and see if there is any one 
there.” 

“I didn’t hear anything, or, if I did, I wouldn’t 
have noticed it, as my whole mind was occupied 
with our unexpected visitor, but it is getting fairly 
late so we might as well go back anyhow.” 

They had not gone far before voices were dis- 
tinctly heard, also the sound of paddles. A few 
minutes later two well-laden canoes were seen near 
the camp, so the boys, anxious to see who their 
visitors might be, hurried along. 

“Well I’ll be hanged if that isn’t Frank Taylor. 
Hello: Frank, old sport, what in thunder are you 
doing up here?” Charlie called out. 

“Hello yourself and the same question to you. 
Well, this is funny, meeting up here in the wilds. 
And you too, Jack, why, this is great!” Then, 
turning to the man in the other canoe, Frank con- 
tinued: “You know these two great explorers, don’t 
you, Dad?” 

“I surely do. You are the two that got lost up 
in Newfoundland, aren’t you?” 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 219 


“I believe we are,” Jack replied. “This is our 
little one-night stand; won’t you join us and make 
your camp here; it’s not a bad spot.” Then Frank 
introduced his friend Dick Willoughby and the 
guide Amos Goode, and it was agreed that they 
should camp together. The canoes were immedi- 
ately landed and in a short time all hands were busy 
putting up tents. The new comers travelled in 
luxury, had large tents and air mattresses which 
rather amused Jack and Charlie, who did not be- 
lieve in such unnecessary encumbrances. 


CHAPTER XIII 

They have some fun in camp. Air mattress affords 
amusement , so does a rope; a tent collapses; the hoys under - 
take an expedition; see wolves chase a deer. Find beaver 
skulls and become suspicious. Meet Pete very unex- 
pectedly! An attempt is made to burn them and they have 
a narrow escape. 

TT WAS a jolly party that sat round the camp fire 
that cool autumn evening, and it was late before 
Mr. Taylor suggested turning in. Charlie had 
made up his mind to have some fun with those air 
mattresses which had been blown up after so much 
trouble, and he had quietly opened the valves while 
the other two boys had been getting ready for bed. 
The two tents belonging to the four boys were 
pitched close together and Charlie and Jack were 
much amused to hear the remarks about the mat- 
tresses, as the air slowly escaped under the pressure 
of the bodies. “ These beastly things are leaking, I 
believe. Hang it all, we must blow them up again! 
That brute of a pump is busted, too; what a 
nuisance !” Then came the sound of vigorous 
blowing and once more there was quiet. 


220 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 221 


“ Let’s wait till they are asleep,” Charlie whis- 
pered to Jack, “and then we’ll open up the valves 
again.” It was not long before the sound of even 
breathing was heard, and Charlie crept out of 
his blankets and very quietly raised the side of 
the neighbouring tent. The valve was soon found 
and opened, and he returned to the blankets. 
Before long there was evidence of restlessness and 
more remarks regarding air mattresses in general 
and that one in particular and once more the sound 
of blowing was heard. Then again all became quiet 
and once more Charlie repeated his efforts. Now 
it happened that Dick had been suspicious, and 
had pretended to be asleep, so he saw Charlie’s 
hands appearing under the edge of the tent. Venge- 
ance was sworn in a deep whisper as soon as the 
hands were withdrawn. For nearly an hour all 
was quiet then the owners of the air mattress crept 
out of their tent silently. A quick dive was made 
into the other tent. Before the two figures, so 
comfortably wrapped in their sleeping bags real- 
ized, the bags were securely fastened round their 
necks. Then they were dragged unceremoniously 
down to the water’s edge, and deposited like sacks 
of potatoes in a frost covered patch of grass. 
“Good night, you dear boys,” said Frank, as he 
turned to go back to his tent, “I do hope you will 
sleep well and that you won’t need any air mat- 



222 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


tresses. Call us if you want anything, though we 
sleep so soundly we may not hear your sweet 
voices. Ta! ta!” 

“One on us,” Charlie remarked, “and those beasts 
have tied me up so tightly that I cannot get my 
hands out. Roll over here and see if you can undo 
this cord with your teeth.” 

Jack did as he was asked, but.it was a difficult 
task; at last, however, he succeeded in freeing Charlie 
who in turn let him out of his bag. The walk back 
to the tent in bare feet over the frosty ground was 
anything but pleasant and the two vowed they 
would get even with their friends at the first op- 
portunity. But in the meantime they needed sleep. 
Next day it was decided that they should stay on 
in the camp as Mr. Taylor was anxious to have a 
try for the big moose that Charlie and Jack had 
seen the evening before and this decision gave 
Charlie the opportunity he wanted. He first 
of all cut a thin slab of wood, made it smooth, 
and smeared it with grease. This he placed under 
the pole of Frank’s tent. To the bottom of the pole 
he fastened a piece of thin cord which was carefully 
concealed under the moss and leaves and the end 
hidden close to his own bed. Then at Jack’s sug- 
gestion a rope with a slip knot was placed around 
their friend’s bed, hidden between the bankets, 
and the end of this also led to their own tent. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 223 


Mr. Taylor returned to camp with the boys about 
dark, having had no luck with the moose in spite of 
the guide’s clever calling. Unfortunately for them 
the wind was blowing so hard that it would have 
been quite possible for the moose to approach with- 
out their seeing or hearing it. 

All hands were ready for bed as soon as supper 
had been eaten. Frank and his companion were 
entirely unsuspicious, after finding the valve of 
their bed had not been opened, and it was but a 
short time before they were fast asleep. The two 
conspirators chuckled as Charlie got hold of the 
rope and slowly pulled it; not much effort was 
required to move the pole, and it slid along the 
greased board in a most satisfactory way, and the 
next instant the tent collapsed on top of the sur- 
prised pair on the air mattress. Curiously enough 
they never suspected their two friends next door, 
but blamed the wind and incidentally themselves 
for having put the tent up so badly. It required 
some time to get the tent up securely, and they 
fondly imagined that no one knew of their mishap. 
Charlie had managed during the confusion to partly 
unscrew the air valve of the mattress with excellent 
results for in about a quarter of an hour the pair 
who wanted to sleep began to be painfully con- 
scious of the marked inequalities of the ground 
and the two conspirators heard whispered remarks 



224 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


of a most uncomplimentary nature; but just as 
Frank and Dick started to get out of their blankets 
the rope was suddenly pulled vigorously and they 
were securely tied together, very much to their 
surprise. Charlie and Jack roared with laughter 
as they pulled the struggling but helpless couple 
out of their tent. 

“So you thought you had scored last night, did 
you?” they both asked. “Now, look here, we 
have very kind hearts but are great believers in 
precaution. We will give you your choice. Either 
you declare pax, or we take you down to the water’s 
edge, and fasten you up there for the rest of the 
night, and it’s a nice cool night, too.” Needless 
to say pax was declared by the two helpless victims 
and soon the camp was quiet again. The following 
morning the little party broke up after much good 
humoured bantering and Charlie and Jack once 
more made their way up river. 

For some days after the return to camp the 
weather behaved very badly. Frequent rain and 
incessant wind which blew with such force that 
the beautiful scarlet and yellow leaves of the 
maples, birches, and poplars were stripped from 
the branches and sent whirling in coloured wreaths 
through the woods till they came to rest on the 
ground on which they formed a carpet that rivalled 
in richness of hue the most wonderful Persian 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 225 


carpet. Following the spell of stormy weather 
there came several days of bitter cold and the edges 
of the ponds were fringed with ice. During these 
evenings the camp fire burned brightly and its 
comforting warmth made a strong appeal. 

One fine day the boys, carrying supplies for a 
few days, went off for a trip across country to see 
what was happening in beaver-land. The first 
lodges they visited were found to have received 
their plastering of mud and looked very smooth 
and tidy. This mud is not applied until there is 
frost as it would wash off under heavy rain, but 
once it freezes, the lodge is safe from the attacks 
of any wild animals. Wolves may prowl round 
during the bitter winter nights when hunger grips 
their bellies. They may hear the fat, sweet-fleshed 
beaver talking in the seclusion of their homes. 
But the frozen mud is like a coat of armour and in 
vain the famished beasts bite and tear at the 
hardened walls. The beaver with his wonderful 
wisdom has foreseen the possibility of these attacks 
and he has safe-guarded himself most thoroughly. 
The plaster of mud covers all parts of the lodge 
above water except the extreme summit which is 
left bare, and the network of sticks is arranged so 
that the vitiated air can escape through this curious 
flue. Yet the tangled sticks are locked together 
by the frozen mud and no animal can find a way 



226 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


through. When snow covers the country and the 
lodge resembles one of the numberless inequalities 
of the ground, the careful observer will note a 
film of vapour rising into the cold air from the top 
of the snow-concealed house, and this unfortunately 
gives the trapper the information he wants, for 
it tells him the house is occupied. 

The two explorers, having examined several of 
the lodges, steered in a westerly direction, deter- 
mined to go farther than on any previous occasion. 
While they were sitting round a small fire enjoying 
their midday meal a curious sound was heard. For 
some time they wondered what it was and where 
it came from; then Charlie, happening to glance 
upward, saw that the sound came from among 
the clouds; cutting their way through the sky, a 
flock of geese were passing in regular V-shaped 
formation; with wonderful speed they flew and 
were soon lost to view. Evidently the recent cold 
had started the birds on their southward migra- 
tion. 

The meal being finished, the journey to nowhere 
in particular was resumed, but nothing of special 
interest occurred during the afternoon. One 
rather fine stag was seen but he was not anxious 
for a close acquaintance with the human beings 
and bounded away with a disdainful display of the 
large white banner. It was noticeable that the 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 227 


colour of this stag was a soft gray which blended 
well with any background, so that if the animal 
stood motionless he would not be easily seen. 
During the summer the deer are almost orange, 
a colour which, when seen against green foliage, 
is remarkably conspicuous. It is somewhat diffi- 
cult to understand how this works out with the 
colour protection theory in which I confess to an 
almost disbelief, so far as it is supposed to apply 
to the larger animals. We often hear it urged 
as an example of how nature protects its animals 
by turning them white where the country is snow 
covered, and the hare is frequently the animal used 
in the illustration. What, then, about the weasel 
or ermine, its great enemy? 7 / the hare is turned 
white because it needs protection, why, may it be 
asked, does its arch enemy receive the same pro- 
tective colouring? The two conditions are hard 
to reconcile. For my own part I firmly believe 
that the turning white has some entirely different 
object, which at present is not understood. 

Toward evening the two wanderers came to a 
series of beaver ponds where an immense amount 
of work had been done very recently. As it was 
too late to investigate, camp was made for the 
night and early the following morning they started 
to examine the various dams and lodges. While 
walking along the edge of one of the ponds they 



228 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 



Cutting their way through the sky, a flock of geese passed in tegular V- 
shaped formation 


found to their great surprise several fresh beaver 
skulls hidden among the bushes. As beaver were 
not allowed to be trapped this discovery was diffi- 
cult to understand. Evidently some poacher was 
camped somewhere in the neighbourhood where he 
thought himself safe from observation. A further 
search resulted in the finding of quite a number of 
skulls and remains of bodies. The poacher, who- 
ever he was, had evidently made a large haul, and 
the question which puzzled the boys was whether 
or not he was still in the neighbourhood. If so, 
and he knew of the boys’ presence, things might 
become dangerously interesting as he was probably 
a desperate character. It was obvious that the 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 229 



Like a flash the hunted doe passed , followed closely by two large wolves 


less conspicuous they made themselves, the safer 
and better it would be for them. 

If only they could catch the man it would be a 
great achievement, though very risky. 

For some time they debated what would be the 
best course of action. Finally it was decided 
to keep a sharp lookout and, if possible, see the 
rascal and identify him without letting him know 
he was being watched. Then they would report 
the matter on their return to Beaver Town. Under 
these conditions it was advisable to make a camp 
in a thick wood, where they would be well con- 
cealed. A suitable place was found after some 
searching and the little camp was soon made. 



230 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


As the sound of an axe would be heard quite a long 
way, everything in the way of cutting had to be 
done with knives. Firewood was collected from 
among the fallen trees. Of course the making 
of a fire was risky, but the evening was sure to be 
cold so they determined to make as small a fire 
as possible and not even do that until dark, when 
the smoke would not be seen. 

During the evening a careful watch was kept near 
the ponds but nothing was seen of the poacher and 
the boys eventually started back toward their camp. 
They had not gone far before a strange sound was 
heard. What it was they could not imagine but 
it seemed as though some animals were rushing 
through the woods. At first they connected the 
disturbance with the poacher and crouched low 
as the sound drew nearer. Suddenly in the dim 
light something was seen to be coming straight 
toward where they were hidden and an instant 
later like a flash a hunted doe passed, followed by 
two large wolves. The boys were not seen either 
by the hunted or the hunters, even though they 
had passed not more than a few yards away and 
the panting of the wolves had been heard distinctly. 
The whole thing had occurred with extraordinary 
rapidity and the doe had vanished over the crest 
of the low hill before the boys realized what had 
happened. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 231 


A few minutes later while they were still talking 
about it they were surprised to see the doe returning 
but no longer pursued by the wolves. How she had 
eluded her pursuers was a mystery they could not 
fathom. But that she had done so was evident 
by her leisurely gait, as though she was absolutely 
sure of her safety. 

Charlie suggested going over the hill and follow- 
ing the wolves’ tracks to see what had interrupted 
the chase, and though it was getting late, Jack 
agreed to the proposition and they started. But 
on reaching the top of the hill they received a 
terrible shock. Not ten yards away stood a man 
armed with a rifle. Of course it must be the poacher 
and now he had caught them! Escape was im- 
possible. They stood rooted to the ground, afraid 
to make a move in any direction. It was an awful 
moment. 

Suddenly from out of the silence came a voice: 
“ Evenin’ ” and the owner of the voice moved 
forward. Evidently he was not going to shoot them 
at once and the two frightened boys made an at- 
tempt to reply to the salutation, but their voices 
sounded weak and far away. 

“I tink I see you at Company’s store up Beaver 
Town, eh?” 

It was poor old Pete the Indian. What a relief! 
The two boys grabbed his hand as though he had 



232 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


been their life-long and very best friend. It ap- 
peared that Pete was still on the trail of Sneaky 
Bill, who had stolen his splendid silver fox skin. 
For weeks he had been searching the country and 
several times he had come on the trail only to lose it 
again, for Bill was no fool, and knew the country like 
a book. At last Pete had traced the rascal to this 
country which was only a few miles from where he 
had been when Gibson so nearly caught him, 
though between that time and the present Bill had 
travelled many weary miles in his efforts to throw 
all pursuers off his evil trail. 

The Indian accepted Jack’s invitation to come 
to their camp but when Charlie started to make a 
fire he advised him to make it very small, just 
enough to boil water for tea. He said that Sneaky 
Bill was probably somewhere not far away and if 
he saw a fire the whole chase would have to be begun 
again. 

Pete’s idea was to watch for his quarry and if 
possible catch him unawares, and take him back 
to B eaver T own . This would of course require both 
caution and skill, to say nothing of patience, but 
he was determined to catch the man, even though 
it took him years. Before going to sleep he told 
in his broken English how Gibson and Cooper had 
very nearly caught Bill two or three times and he 
believed they were still on the trail. 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 233 


Shortly before daylight the smell of smoke awak- 
ened Pete. He quickly roused the sleeping boys. 
Undoubtedly a forest fire was sweeping toward 
them, and, strangely enough, it appeared to be 
coming from several directions. Fortunately there 
was very little wind so it was travelling slowly. 
Pete helped the boys to pack up camp and in a 
few minutes they all moved away. Presently 
escape seemed cut off in every direction. They 
found themselves completely surrounded by a 
circle of flame and smoke. The country was very 
dry and in spite of the lack of wind the fire burned 
fiercely. The situation was critical and it looked 
as though the three were trapped. Pete decided 
to make a counter fire and by this means perhaps 
clear a space; so three large torches of birch bark 
were quickly made and with them a line of fire was 
soon started and allowed to burn only in one direc- 
tion. It was not long before this cleared a broad 
path, but the smoke and heat were well nigh insuffer- 
able. Only by lying down and putting their 
faces in the wet moss could they escape the pungent 
fumes. 

All this time the circle of fire was closing in with 
deadly certainty. The crackling of the flames 
sounded like the constant rattle of a machine gun. 
It was touch and go, whether the ground where 
the counter fire had burned would be cool enough 



234 


TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


to walk over before the circle closed about the 
trio. 

If not, their doom was sealed. Closer and closer 
came the line of fire, and when the blaze caught a 
silvery birch here and there it would climb up the 
inflammable bark like a hundred fiery snakes, 
hissing and spluttering in a terrifying way. These 
great torches lighted up the woods and ground and 
threw a glow of orange on the pallid faces of the 
three trapped human beings whose eyes, smarting 
from the smoke looked first one way and then 
another in the hope of some sign of relief. 

As the fire crept nearer and nearer the heat be- 
came intolerable. Pete said they must chance 
going over the still smouldering ground that 
had burned. So, after slipping some moss into 
their moccasins, they made a run for it. Their 
only chance was to find either a stream or perhaps 
a rock on which they might stand until the fire had 
passed on either side. Luck was with them for 
after going a short distance they came to a piece of 
rock-strewn ground over which the fire had found 
little that would burn, so the stones were cool. 
The idea of putting moss in their moccasins had 
been a good one; though the leather was badly 
burned, their feet had not suffered in the least. 

During this long period of anxiety and discomfort 
the day had broken clear and bright above the pall 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 235 


of dark smoke which under the driving power of a 
rising breeze was travelling northward with ever- 
increasing speed. The danger to Pete and the 
two smoke-begrimed boys was passed so far as the 
fire was concerned; but their troubles were not yet 
over. Pete suggested having some tea to brace 
them up but unfortunately they had no water and 
it was not safe to venture over the hot ground for 
the present, so they waited a couple of hours before 
making an attempt to find water. A small stream 
was eventually discovered and the longed-for tea was 
soon made. This with food refreshed the three and 
gave them courage and energy. 

It was difficult to know what to do next, or which 
way to go. Without doubt Sneaky Bill was the 
author of the fire; he had evidently discovered his 
danger and thought the easiest way out was to 
destroy his pursuers by burning them so that no 
trace of the crime would be left. Whether he would 
make a search for the camp to see if his fell inten- 
tions had succeeded, there was no way of telling, 
but being at heart a coward he was more likely 
to leave the country without troubling to investi- 
gate. Pete suggested that they should make their 
way cautiously toward the stream which was the 
outlet of the lake, and down which Bill would prob- 
bably go with his canoe. 



CHAPTER XIV 

A skull and bones are found, also important marks of 
identification. Sneaky Bill and Pete do some shooting. 
Gibson and Cooper take a hand in the chase. The race 
for life. Sneaky Bill meets his end. The boys return 
home and say good-bye to Beaver-land. 

/ T'HE two boys were greatly excited at the pros- 
pect of this game of hide and seek under the 
guidance of the crafty Indian, and they started 
off through the burned woods keeping a careful 
lookout for any trace of the rascally half-breed. 

While making their way through what had been 
a very dense part of the woods, but which was now 
a tangle of charred and smoking trees and 
undergrowth, Charlie happened to notice what 
looked like a curious smooth white stone and he 
turned aside to examine it. To his great surprise 
the stone proved to be a human skull, and he quickly 
called his companions to come to see it. Pete 
picked up the skull which was apparently many 
years old and found a deep gash on one side which 
had evidently been made with an axe. A careful 


236 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 237 


search among the stones and burned wood led to f 
the discovery of the rest of the human bones, the 
fire had charred them and destroyed whatever there 
had been in the way of clothing. Among the ashes 
a few buttons were found, also a rusty knife, a pair 
of folding scissors and a rather peculiar buckle 
formed by two letters, R. A. As these might pos- 
sibly be of use in identifying the unfortunate man 
they were wrapped up carefully and taken away. 

For more than an hour after this gruesome find the 
three continued their way through the burnt woods 
before they came to a narrow swamp which had 
defied the fire. On the farther side of this swamp 
was a low, wooded knoll or island which stretched 
back about a mile with swampy ground and ponds 
on either side. To cross to the knoll over the open 
swamp was a risky proceeding so Pete led the 
way along the edge of the burnt woods till he came 
to a beaver pond which was fringed with alders 
and willows. These afforded ample cover so he 
crept through them with the boys following close 
at his heels. In this way they reached the edge 
of the wooded island. According to Pete’s ideas 
this was a most likely place for Bill to have taken 
himself. Here he could keep a lookout over 
the open swamp and escape without much difficulty 
in the event of any one approaching. After the 
dastardly attempt to burn them, Pete did not feel 



238 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


that there was the slightest reason why he should 
not take his friend Bill “dead or alive” and as he 
expressed this opinion in a quiet whisper he exam- 
ined the rifle he was carrying to see that it was in 
perfect order. Charlie and Jack, who both agreed 
that Sneaky Bill should be taken regardless of 
method, deeply regretted not having brought their 
rifles. The adventure had developed beyond their 
wildest expectations and they felt that, being 
unarmed, they would not be able to take their full 
share in whatever happened. 

Pete decided to walk along the edge of the wood 
a few hundred yards before entering, as the tangle 
was so dense where they were that it would have 
been impossible to get through quietly. As soon 
as a suitable place was found the three hunters 
crept up the slight rise, making scarcely any sound 
as they moved over the carpet of fallen leaves. 
It was Pete’s intention to reach the ridge of the 
island and follow it along its full length. Before 
he had gone more than three hundred yards he 
stopped suddenly as he came to where the leaves 
had been disturbed. Only a keen eye could have 
noticed it, and he bent down to examine the leaves 
in order to make sure whether they had been 
moved by man’s clumsy foot. 

As he was leaning down with the two boys close 
beside him there came a sharp ping in the air fol- 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 239 


lowed instantly by the loud report of a rifle. In- 
stinctively the three dropped flat on the ground; 
a few seconds passed in breathless silence, then 
Pete edged his way to a large, shaggy birch. As he 
was about to rise another shot rang out and the 
bullet grazed Charlie’s shoulder cutting his clothing 
but scarcely scratching the skin. Charlie filled 
with curiosity had raised himself up a little and 
his imprudence had very nearly cost him his life. 
But the shot had shown Pete more or less where the 
bullet had come from, and he watched carefully 
for the least sign of his adversary. For a long time 
nothing occurred to break the peace of the autumn 
woods save the rustling of the leaves, and the call of 
the chicadees. Then Pete saw a twig move and 
he fired. Almost at the same moment the sound 
of another shot came from a different direction, 
and Pete wondered who could have fired it. Again 
there was silence which lasted a long time. Pete 
left the large birch tree and crept away. 

For nearly half an hour the boys were left wonder- 
ing what was happening when several shots fired 
in rapid succession were heard down in the direction 
of the swamp. Throwing caution to the winds 
they got up and ran down the hill, when suddenly 
they saw two men going in the same direction. 
The two men were Gibson and Cooper. With 
mutual surprise the four met at the edge of the 



240 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


woods and they saw Pete some distance away 
dodging among the undergrowth of the swamp, 
and still farther away a man was seen running 
frantically toward a large pond. To overtake 
him was impossible so Cooper called to Gibson 
to follow and make for the canoe which they had 
left hidden near the stream about a mile below. 

Sneaky Bill, seeing what was happening, and that 
his escape was threatened, made all possible speed 
along the edge of the pond dodging several long- 
distance shots from Pete, who was following as 
fast as he could over the uneven, swampy ground. 
Bill had the advantage in the race as he was on 
fairly firm ground and he managed to reach his 
canoe unhurt. Once in the water he increased his 
lead with ease, but before him were the two police- 
men and it was just a chance whether he could 
pass their canoe, wherever it was, and of course 
he did not know, before they reached it. Every 
second was valuable and the hunted rascal exerted 
himself to the utmost. Charlie and Jack could 
see him and were struck by the curious way in 
which he used the pole to force the canoe along. 
Apparently he did it almost entirely with one hand 
and yet so skillfully did he handle the pole that the 
canoe seemed to fly over the water. 

Pete, seeing how things were going, came running 
back to the boys and said he was going to get to 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 241 


his canoe which he had left well hidden in a small 
stream some distance below. The boys being in 
good condition had little difficulty in keeping up 
with the swift footed Indian and together they 
raced along, cutting across the woods and down into 
the swamp on the other side and finally reached 
the canoe very much out of breath. In the distance 
they could hear the sounds of paddling which 
showed that Gibson and Cooper had started down 
stream. 

It was to be a race for life, down with the current, 
round sharp bends, over newly finished beaver dams 
and through small ponds where beaver houses 
were passed unnoticed. Bill had got a good lead, 
and a very small, light canoe. But his day had 
come. Slowly but surely his pursuers were over- 
hauling him. By the time he reached the large 
swift river he was not more than five or six hundred 
yards ahead. For a few minutes the rapid current 
gave him some advantage and he gained a couple 
of hundred yards. This was quickly lost when the 
two other canoes scarcely four hundred yards 
apart came flying into the same current. 

The river was a succession of rapids, in the midst 
of which jutted great foam-splashed boulders ready 
to destroy anything that dared to touch them. It 
was dangerous work taking a canoe through these 
white waters, and required quick judgment to 



242 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


select the safest passage, and untiring strength to 
twist and turn the frail craft among the rocks 
and curling eddies. 

Bill was having more than he could manage. 
His right arm seemed to be of little use and he made 
the most desperate efforts with his left to steer the 
canoe past the innumerable dangers. But it was 
more than man could do and suddenly with a sick- 
ening crash his canoe hit broad side on a sharp 
boulder and was instantly smashed into kindling 
wood. The wretched man disappeared in the 
seething water with a howl of despair which was 
heard even above the roar of the river. 

Within a second or two both the following canoes 
had reached the spot but they were forced past it 
before a reasonably safe place could be found to 
turn in toward the bank. To render any help was 
out of the question. The river after all had been 
the judge, the jury, and the executioner. Sneaky 
Bill had paid the price and justice had been strangely 
satisfied. The splendid dog he had so relentlessly 
killed had exacted retribution. Bill’s arm had 
never recovered from the bite, and he had been 
unable to handle his canoe as he would otherwise 
have done. 

“Well, I suppose it has turned out as well’as 
could be hoped,” Cooper remarked. “He has got 
what was coming to him and what he jolly well 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 243 


deserved and the world is infinitely better without 
him. He has certainly led us a merry dance and I’ll 
have to acknowledge he was not much of a fool. 
Several times after we left you at Four Island Lake 
we were very close on his trail, but he always man- 
aged to give us the slip.” 

“What ’bout my fox skin, you no find ’em, eh?” 
asked Pete. 

“No, Pete, my boy. We have not found any sign 
of your fox skin, but it may yet turn up and if it 
doesn’t, why you will have to go and catch another. 
We saw two the other day and they were beauties, 
black as ink. Gibson says he could have shot them 
both, but, unfortunately, making a noise was the 
one thing we wanted to avoid, so we had to watch 
a thousand dollars walk off without so much as 
a thank you. Now tell us about what happened 
to you and how you got mixed up with that fire. 
You seem to be still carrying very black faces as 
though you were in mourning for your friend Bill.” 

Charlie and Jack between, told of what had 
happened and how they had found the skeleton. 
They showed Cooper the articles they had picked 
up. Only the belt interested him. He referred 
to a small pocket notebook that he always carried 
with him, a strange little book filled with a curious 
assortment of notes and sketches. Soon he came 
to some remarks about the American who had so 



244 TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 


mysteriously disappeared. Roy Allister was the 
name. Among the notes was the following to be 
used for identification: “wearing a leather belt with 
peculiar hand-made copper buckle formed of the 
letters R. A.” 

“Well, I’ll be hanged!” Cooper exclaimed. “So 
that’s what happened to the poor Yankee! We 
were always pretty sure Bill had done him in but 
never could prove it and even this would scarcely 
be sufficient to hang a man I suppose. After all 
it only identifies Allister and proves that he was 
killed with an axe, according to your description 
of the cut in the skull. Well, it doesn’t make much 
difference, now. Perhaps they’ll meet on the other 
side of the Great Divide and settle it between them- 
selves, and I hope poor Bebe will be there to get 
in his little bit.” 

“What about trying to recover the body?” 
asked Gibson. 

“I’m blowed if I know,” Cooper replied. “If 
we do, it’s going to be a horrid nuisance, but I 
suppose we have got to make some effort or there’ll 
be questions asked. Perhaps we had better go 
down the river a bit and select some place where 
the water is reasonably quiet and take turns at 
watching. We can all camp together.” That 
seemed the best plan so they went down the 
river a few miles until a suitable place was found 



TWO BOYS IN BEAVER-LAND 245 


which combined a good camp site with a quiet 
stretch of water at the head of a very shallow rapid. 
But the watchers saw nothing and at noon the 
following day they decided to continue the journey 
to Beaver Town, and report what had happened. 

Pete left the boys at the foot of MacPherson’s 
trail and they went back to camp thoroughly tired 
out by the excitement of the past days. Time 
had scarcely come for them to return home but 
the recent events had rather upset them and they 
decided to break up camp. Perhaps they were 
homesick, and did not know it. 

A week later they arrived safely in Boston and 
were soon in their comfortable home. Mrs. Syl- 
vester welcomed the two browned boys and blessed 
the doctor who had advised their going north. 
Evelyn was more glad than she knew to see them 
both safely back and showed them Big-ears happily 
ensconced in his new home. Here he was safe from 
the prowling lynx and fox and she hoped that 
Fluff and Greedy, to say nothing of poor little 
scolding Flip-tail, would live comfortably through 
the winter and be on hand to welcome them all 
when they paid another visit to beaver-land. 

THE END 




THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS 
GARDEN CITY, N. Y. 


f 









































































































^ • 
































































































































































































































. 


















































































































































































V 


































« 




































































